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REV   THOMAS   ALLEN. 
1V99. 


CENTENNIAL   ANNIVERSARY 


Independence  of  the  State  of  Vermont 


f  ^ 


AUGUST  IS  and  j6,  iSyy. 


WESTMINSTER-HUBBARDTON--WINDSOR. 


TUTTLE  &  CO.,  RUTLAND, 
Official  Printers  and  Stationers  to  the  State  of  Vermont.^ 

1879. 


^f7 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Preltmikary  Arrangements. 

Act  of  Incorporation, 2 

Organization  of  Bennington  Historical  Society,  ....  4 

Vermont  Centennial  Commission, 6 

Address  of  the  Commission, 7 

Vermont  Day. 

The  Procession, 12 

Exercises  at  the  Oration  Tent, 17 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings, 17 

Address  of  E.  J.  Phelps,  the  President, 20 

Oration  of  Daniel  Roberts,          22 

Poem  of  Mrs.  Julia  C.  R.  Dorr, 89 

Address  of  Gen.  Joseph  R.  Hawley, 48 

Address  of  Ex-Gov.  Walter  Hamman, 49 

Address  of  Gen.  N.  P.  Banks, 51 

Address  of  Gov.  Selden  Connor, 53 

Address  of  Gov.  Charles  C.  Van  Zandt, 54 

Reception  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,    ...  55 

Bennington  Battle  Day, 56 

The  Procession, 57 

President  Hayes'  Review, .  65 

Prayer  by  Rev.  John  Wheelock  Allen, 66 

Hymn  "  America," 68 

Address  of  Gov.  Horace  Fairbanks, 69 

Oration  of  Rev.  Samuel  C.  Bartlett,  D.  D.,    .     .     .    .     .  69 

Ode  of  William  Cullen  Bryant, 94 

Ode  of  Mrs.  Maria  Mason, 95 

Address  of  President  Hayes, .  95 

Address  of  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts, 96 

Address  of  Hon.  David  M.  Key, 96 


iv  Contents, 

Page. 

Address  of  Gen.  Charles  Devens,    .          ......  97 

Address  of  Eon.  E.  W.  Stoughton, 98 

The  Dinner, 99 

Remarks  of  E.  J.  Phelps,  the  President, 99 

Response  of  President  Hayes, 100 

Letter  of  Lord  Dufferin, 101 

Response  of  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts, 102 

Response  of  Gov.  B.  F.  Prescott, 104 

Response  of  Hon.  E.  W.  Stoughton, 107 

Response  of  Gov.  Horace  Fairbanks, 108 

Response  of  Hon.  Geo.  F.  Edmunds, 108 

Response  of  Hon.  David  M.  Key, 109 

Response  of  Hon.  Charles  Devens, 109 

Response  of  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill, Ill 

Response  of  Hon.  Thomas  Allen, 112 

Response  of  Lieut.-Gov.  Horatio  G.  Knight,    ....  119 

Response  of  Rev.  S.  C.  Bartlett,  D.  D., 121 

Letters  From  Invited  Guests, 122 

Letter  from  Gen.  P.  H.  Sheridan, 122 

Letter  from  Gov.  J.  E.  Johnson  of  Virginia,     ....  123 

Letter  from  Gov.  R.  H.  Hubbard  of  Connecticut,      .     .  123 

Letter  from  Gov.  B.  B.  Hubbard  of  Texas, ....  124 

Letter  of  Gov.  James  D.  Williams  of  Indiana,       .     .     .  124 

Letter  from  Gov.  Henry  M.  Mathews  of  West  Virginia,  125 

Letter  from  Gov.  Z.  B.  Vance  of  North  Carolina,      .     .  125 

Letter  from  Gov.  A.  H.  Colquitt  of  Georgia,    .     .     .     .  126 

Letter  fron>  Gov.  James  B.  McCreary  of  Kentucky,  .     .  126 

Letter  from  Gov.  J.  M.  Stone  of  Mississippi,    .     .     .     .  127 

Letter  from  Gov.  W.  B.  Miller  of  Arkansas,     ....  127 

Letter  from  Gov.  James  B.  Porter  of  Tennessee,  .     .     .  128 

Letter  from  Hon.  Stanley  Mathews  of  Ohio,     ....  128 

Letter  from  Hon.  T.  F.  Bayard  of  Delaware,    ....  129 

Letter  from  Gen.  J.  A.  Garfield  of  Ohio, 129 

Letter  of  Greeting  from  Michigan, 130 

Letter  from  Rev.  E.  H.  Chapin,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,    .  131 


Contents.  v 

Page. 

Letter  from  George  William  Curtis  of  New  York,     .     .  131 

Letter  from  Rev.  Leonard  Bacon  of  New  Haven, .     .     .  131 

Letter  from  John  G.  Whittier, 132 

Letter  from  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson, 133 

Letter  from  Chief  Justice  John  Pierpoint, 138 

Letter  from  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Da  Goesbriand,     ....  184 

Appendix, 135 

Sunday  Services, 136 

Service  at  First  Church, 136 

Address  of  Welcome,  by  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings,      .     .     .  137 

Remai'ks  of  Rev.  L.  C.  Patridge, .138 

Remarks  of  Rev.  H.  L.  Grant, 140 

Remarks  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Armstrong, 140 

Remarks  of  Rev.  E.  G.  Read, 144 

Remarks  of  Rev.  G.  G.  Jones, 145 

Remarks  of  Rev.  R.  M.  Luther, 146 

Vermont  Editors'  Association, 148 

Address  of  Hon.  E.  P.  Walton, 148 

Vermont  Centennial  Commission, 156 

Battle  of  Bennington,  by  Ex-Go  v.  Hiland  Hall. 

Introductory, 166 

Preparing  for  the  Battle, 171 

The  Battle, 174 

Westminster, 179 

Revised  Declaration  of  Independence, 187 

HUBBARDTON ,      .  184 

Order  of  Procession, 184 

Collation, 185 

Windsor, 187 

Order  of  Exercises, 187 

Sermon  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Hulbert,  D.  D., 188 

Oration  of  Hon.  Gilbert  A.  Davis, 211 

Dinner,       231 


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EXPLANATORY    NOTES. 

Main  Ground  1,800  feet  in  length.  Oration  tent,  accommodating  12,000. 
Banquet  tent,  seating  3,500.  Reviewing  stand  and  elevated  seats  on  right  of 
dotted  line,  (old  race  track).  Head  Quarters  Governor  of  Vermont,  Chief 
Marshal  and  Division  Commanders  in  front  of  Vermont  Camp.  Committees' 
Head  Quarters  just  inside  entrance  to  grounds.  Massachusetts  train  upon 
siding  veithin  the  grounds  as  shown.  Putnam  Phalanx  occupy  the  Seminary, 
near  Bennington  Center.  Exhibition  of  Revolutionary  Relics  at  Bennington 
Center. 


MAP    OF    BENNINGTON,   1877. 


1.  Walloomsac  House,  Bennington  Center. 

2.  Site  of  Catamount  Tavern,  Bennington  Center. 

3.  Old  Church,  upon  site  of  original  1st  Church  and  Cemetery  where 
dead  from  battle  field  of  Bennington  are  buried. 

4.  Centennial  encampment  and  grounds. 

5.  Putnam  House. 

6.  Stark  House. 

7.  Post  Office. 

8.  Railroad  Station. 

9.  Gates  House. 


PRELIMINARY  ARRANGEMENTS. 


Prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  general  assembly,  in  1876, 
attention  had  been  called  to  the  propriety  of  commemorating 
in  a  suitable  manner,  the  events  of  Yermont's  centennial  year  ; 
and  some  organized  effort  had  been  made  in  that  direction. 
Thus,  the  Bennington  Historical  Society,  with  ex-Governor 
Hiland  Hall  as  president,  had  been  formed  with  the  object, 
among  others,  of  "assisting  in  the  proper  observance  of  the 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington."  The 
subject  had  been  discussed  for  three  years  in  the  "  Reunion 
Society  of  Yermont  Officers ;"  and  tlie  "  Yeteran  Soldiers' 
Reunion" — composed  of  tlie  surviving  officers  and  soldiers  of 
Yermont  Yolunteers  during  the  war  for  the  suppression  of 
the  rebellion — had  fixed  upon  Bennington  as  the  place  of  their 
next  reunion,  and  centennial  week  as  the  time.  The  "Yer- 
mont Editors  and  Publishers'  Association"  had  appointed  their 
annual  meeting  on  the  Tuesday  before  the  16th  of  August,  1877, 
and  had  selected  an  orator — Hon.  Eliakim  P.  Walton  of 
Montpelier — with  express  reference  to  the  historical  signifi- 
cance of  the  occasion.  At  the  opening  of  the  biennial  session 
of  the  general  assembly  in  1876,  however,  the  subject  received 
official  recognition,  His  Excellency  Governor  Fairbanks,  in  his 
annual  message,  referring  to  the  approaching  centennial  anni- 
versaries, as  follows : 

"The  completion  of  the  hundredth  year  since  the  independence 
of  the  state,  since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  and  since  the 


2  Bennington.   Centennial. 

battle  of  Bennington,  mark  the  coming  year  emphatically  as  our 
centennial  year.  These  memorable  events  in  a  large  measure 
determined  the  character  of  our  political  existence,  territorially 
and  nationally.  The  remembrance  of  them,  and  of  the  principal 
actors  in  them,  should  be. sacredly  cherished  and  perpetuated.  Is 
it  not  eminently  fitting  and  proper  that  they  be  recognized  by 
some  suitable  observance  ?  " 

This  portion  of  the  governor's  message  was  referred  to  a 
special  committee,  consisting  of  Senators  O.  E.  Butterfield  of 
Windham  county,  and  Silas  Mason  of  Bennington  county,  on 
the  part  of  the  senate ;  and  James  K.  Batchelder  of  Arling- 
ton, Burnam  Martin  of  Chelsea,  Eben  P.  Colton  of  Irasburgh, 
Hiram  Skeels  of  Highgate,  Marvin  O.  Stoddard  of  Poultney, 
George  H.  Blake  of  Barton,  George  E.  Eaton  of  Danville, 
Milo  C.  Huling  of  Bennington,  and  William  P.  Dillingham  of 
Waterbury,  on  the  part  of  the  house ;  who  subsequently 
reported  "An  act  to  ir  .corporate  the  Bennington  Battle  Monu- 
ment Association,"  which,  with  slight  amendments,  passed 
both  houses  unanimously,  was  approved  by  the  governor  and 
became  a  law,  as  follows  : 

No.    163. — An   act   to   incorporate   the   Bennington    Battle 

Monument  Association. 
Li   is   hereby   enacted  by   the   General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 

Vermont : 

Sec.  1.  Hiland  Hall,  Horace  Fairbanks,  W.  H.  H.  Bingham, 
Justin  S.  Morrill,  E.  J.  Phelps,  Geo.  F.  Edmunds,  Isaac  Jennings, 
Trenor  W.  Park,  John  B.  Page,  Jacob  Estey,  E.  P.  Walton,  John 
Gregory  Smith,  Asahel  Peck,  John  W.  Stewart,  Abram  B.  Gardner, 
Paul  Dillingham,  Harmon  Canfield,  Edward  Seymoui',  Burnam 
Martin,  Frederic  Billings,  Franklin  Butler,  Jed  P.  Ladd,  Mason  S. 
Colburn,  Edward  A.  Sowles,  Carroll  S.  Page,  E.  D.  Mason,  W.  W. 
Grout,  E.  P.  Colton,  George  N.  Dale,  Duane  L.  Kent,  Gilbert  A. 
Davis,  Homer  Goodhue,  Milo  C.  Huling,  J.  Henry  Guild,  George 
W.  Harwell,  Oscar  E.  Buttei'field,  Cyrus  Jennings,  E.  D.  Blodgett, 


Preliminary  Arrangements.  3 

Redfield  Proctor,  John  Lovejoy  Mason,  Eben  Graves,  Hiram  Bur- 
ton ;  and  Seth  B.  Hunt,  H.  Henry  Baxter  and  William  M.  Evarts 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  Samuel  Sanford  and  Daniel  Robinson  of 
Troy,  New  York,  and  Sidney  B.  Squires  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
with  seven  pereons  to  be  elected  annually  in  January  by  the  Ben- 
nington Historical  Society,  are  hereby  constituted,  with  their 
associates  and  successors,  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the 
name  of  the  Bennington  Battle  Monument  Association,  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  and  maintaining  a  suitable  monument  com- 
memorative of  the  achievements  of  General  John  Stark  and  the 
patriot  soldiers  of  Vermont,  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts, 
at  the  decisive  battle  of  Bennington,  fought  on  the  sixteenth  of 
August,  1777,  with  all  the  rights  and  powers  incident  to  corpora- 
tions ;  and  said  corporation  shall  be  located  at  Bennington,  and 
may  have  a  common  seal  and  the  same  alter  at  pleasure  ;  may  sue 
and  be  sued  ;  may  make  such  laws  and  regulations  as  may  be  neces- 
sary, not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  this  State  ;  and  may  take 
and  hold,  by  gift,  purchase,  devise  or  otherwise,  real  and  personal 
estate  to  the  amount  of  thii-ty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  same 
manage  and  dispose  of  for  the  purpose  of  said  corporation. 

Sec.  2.  The  governor,  lieutenant-govei'nor,  speaker  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  and  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  shall 
be  members,  ex  officio,  of  this  corporation;  and  said  corporation, 
at  their  first  meeting  or  at  any  annual  meeting,  may  elect,  by  ballot, 
any  number  of  persons  not  exceeding  sixty  in  all,  exclusive  of  the 
members  ex-officio,  to  be  members  of  the  corporation. 

Sec.  3.  At  their  first  meeting  said  corporation  shall  elect  a 
president,  a  vice-president,  a  treasurer,  a  secretary,  and  a  board  of 
directors,  and  may  elect  other  officers  as  they  shall  see  fit.  The 
treasurer  shall  give  bonds  in  such  sum  as  the  directors  shall  deter- 
mine, and  these  may  be  increased  from  time  to  time  as  they  may 
order. 

Sec.  4.  The  governor  is  hereby  directed  to  invite,  in  the  name 
of  this  State,  the  States  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts,  to 
unite  with  the  State  of  Vermont  in  erecting  a  battle  monument  at 
Bennington. 


4  £enningt  on  Centennial.  \ 

Sec.  5.  No  moneys  appropriated  by  the  State  shall  be  expended 
by  this  association  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  until  sufficient 
funds  shall  have  been  accumulated  by  the  association  to  complete  it. 

Sec.  6.  This  association  shall,  at  their  first  annual  meetings 
takfe  measures  to  secure  at  Bennington,  daring  the  week  of  the 
sixteenth  of  August,  1877,  an  appropriate  centennial  celebration  of 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  and  also  the  recognition  of  the  year  1877 
as  the  one  hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  this  State  as  an 
independent  State. 

Sec.  7.  The  auditor  of  accounts  is  hereby  directed  to  draw  his 
order  on  the  treasurer  of  the  State,  in  favor  of  the  treasurer  of  this 
association,  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  upon  receivings 
satisfactory  proof  that  said  association  has  raised  and  is  in  actual 
possession  of  available  funds  to  the  amount  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  be  expended  for  the  ei-ection  of  a  battle  monument  at 
Bennington;  he  is  also  directed  to  draw  a  further  order  for  the 
sum  of  two  thousand  dollars,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the 
provisions  of  section  six,  provided  the  association  shall  raise  the 
sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  for  this  purpose. 

Sec.  8.  The  first  meeting  of  this  corporation  shall  be  held, 
without  further  notice,  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  January,  A.  D. 
1877,  at  the  court  house  in  said  town  of  Bennington,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  at  which  meeting  any  ten  of  said  corporators  shall 
form  a  quorum  for  business. 

Sec.  9.     This  act  shall  take  effect  from  its  passage. 

Approved  November  28,  1876. 

Under  the  first  section  the  Bennington  Historical  Society 
elected  the  followang  additional  corporators :  John  T.  Shurt- 
leff,  Alonzo  B.  Yalentine,  Charles  M,  Bliss,  Olin  Scott,  Charles 
Dewey,  Henry  G.  Root,  and  George  W.  Robinson — all  of 
Bennington. 

A  quorum  of  the  corporators  named  above  met  at  the  court 
house  in  the  village  of  Bennington,  on  the  10th  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1877,  and  organized  by  the  choice  of  Hon,  William  H. 
H.  Bingham  of  Stowe,  as  temporary  chairman,  and  Carroll  S. 


Preliminary  Arrangements.  5 

Page  of  Hyde  Park,  as  temporary  secretary.  A  permanent 
organization  was  effected  the  same  day  by  the  choice  of  the 
following  officers : 

His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Presi- 
dent. 

Hon.  Hiland  Hall  of  Bennington,  Yice-President. 

Charles  M.  Bliss  of  Bennington,  Secretary. 

John  T.  Shurtleff  of  Bennington,  Assistant  Secretary. 

Milo  C.  Huling  of  Bennington,  Treasurer. 

On  motion  of  Governor  Hall,  it  was 

^^Besolved,  That  this  association  will  take  proper  and  efficient 
measures  to  secure  at  Bennington,  during  the  week  of  the  16th  of 
August,  1877,  au  appropriate  ceutennial  celebration  of  the  Battle 
of  Bennington,  and  also  a  recognition  of  the  year  1877  as  the  one 
hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  Vermont  as  an  independent 
state  " 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  a  centennial  commission  was 
created,  upon  whom  was  imposed  the  duty  of  taking  proper 
measures  to  secure  the  celebrations  contemplated  by  the  reso- 
lution of  Governor  Hall. 

The  names  of  the  commission  appear  in  the  appendix. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor,  the  president  of  the  associa- 
tion, was  directed,  in  the  name  of  the  association,  to  invite  the 
governor,  council,  senate,  house  of  representatives  and  state 
officers  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts ;  the  President 
and  Yice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  members  of 
the  cabinet ;  the  governors  of  the  several  states  in  the  Union ; 
the  mayor,  aldermen  and  common  council  of  the  city  of  Man- 
chester, N.  H. ;  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the 
United  States ;  the  general  and  lieutenant-general  of  the 
army ;  the  admiral  and  vice-admiral  of  the  navy ;  the  gov- 
ernor-general of  Canada ;  and  such  other  persons  and  organ- 
izations as  the  executive  committee  of  the  centennial  commis- 


6  Bennington  Centennial. 

sion,  and  the  literary  committee  of  the  Bennington  Battle 
Monument  Association — C.  M.  Bliss,  A.  B.  Gardner  and  Rev^ 
Isaac  Jennings  of  Bennington,  and  Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps  of 
Burlington — should  determine,  to  attend  and  participate  in  the 
celebration. 


VERMONT  CENTENNIAL  COMMISSION. 


The  Yermont  Centennial  Commission,  created  by  the  Ben- 
nington Battle  Monument  Association,  convened  at  Benning- 
ton, April  4, 1877,  and  elected  the  following  board  of  officers  r 

Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps  of  Burlington,  President ;  Hon.. 
Hiland  Hall  of  Bennington,  Hon.  Ryland  Fletcher  of  Cav- 
endish, Hon.  J.  Gregory  Smith  of  St.  Albans,  Hon.  Paul 
Dillingham  of  "Waterbury,  Hon.  John  B.  Page  of  Rutland,. 
Hon.  George  "W.  Hendee  of  Morristown,  Hon.  John  W. 
Stewart  of  Middlebury,  Hon.  Julius  Converse  of  Woodstock,. 
Hon.  Asahel  Peck  of  Jericho,  Hon.  William  H.  H.  Bingham 
of  Stowe,  Hon.  Burnam  Martin  of  Chelsea,  Hon.  George  N^ 
Dale  of  Island  Pond,  Hon.  William  W.  Grout  of  Barton,  and 
Hon.  Jed  P.  Ladd  of  Alburgh,  Yice-Presidents  ;  Charles  M. 
Bliss  of  Bennington,  Secretary ;  Hon.  Henry  G.  Root,  Milo 
C.  Huling  and  Major  Alonzo  B.  Valentine,  of  Bennington^ 
George  A.  Merrill  of  Rutland,  and  Carroll  S.  Page  of  Hyde 
Park,  Executive  Committee. 

From  this  time  forward,  the  affairs  of  the  celebration  and 
its  management  devolved  on  the  executive  committee,  who 
met  and  organized  at  Rutland,  issuing  the  following  address ; 
and,  subsequently,  holding  meetings  at  Burlington  and  other 
prominent  towns  in  the  state : 


Prelvtninary  Arrangements.  7 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  VERMONT  CENTENNIAL  COMMISSION. 
To  THE  People  of  Vermont  : 

Fellow  Citizens: — It  is  doubtless  known  to  you  that  the  Legis- 
lature at  its  last  session  passed  an  act  incorporating  the  Bennington 
Battle  Monument  Association,  and  directed  it  to  "  take  measures 
to  secure  at  Bennington  during  the  week  of  the  16th  of  August, 
1877,  an  appropriate  Centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington, and  also  the  recognition  of  the  year  1877  as  the  one 
hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  the  State  as  an  independent 
State."  In  pursuance  of  this  act  the  Association  has  established 
the  Vermont  Centennial  Commission  to  carry  out  the  special  pro- 
visions of  its  sixth  section.  The  Commission  held  its  first  meeting 
at  Bennington  on  the  4th  day  of  April  last,  and  elected  as  its  pres- 
ident the  Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps  of  Burlington,  who  has  accepted 
the  position  and  is  heartily  enlisted  in  the  duties  of  his  high  oflSce. 
For  its  vice-presidents  it  selected  fifteen  well  known  citizens,  ten 
of  whom  have  been  governoi's  of  the  State  —the  name  of  the  ven- 
erable ex-(xOv.  Hiland  Hall  standing  at  the  head  of  the  list.  It 
also  chose  a  secretary,  a  treasurer  and  an  executive  committee 
of  five  members. 

It  will  be  observed  that  two  distinct  and  separate  events  are  to 
be  commemorated  during  the  week  of  the  16th  of  August  next,  one 
being  an  important  battle — the  other  the  birth  of  a  State — the  con- 
nection between  the  two  being  simply  a  fortuitous  and  not  a  neces- 
saiy  one.  Recognizing  this  fact,  the  Association  has  set  apart  the 
15th  of  August  as  Vermont's  day,  a  day  in  which  the  events  of  the 
first  convention  at  Westminster,  the  second  and  third  at  Windsor, 
all  occurring  in  the  year  1 777,  will  receive  prominent  notice  ;  and 
to  this  celebration  the  Association  has  invited,  through  His  Excel- 
lency the  Governor,  President  of  the  Association,  the  President 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  the  members  of  the  cabi- 
net, and  the  governors  of  the  several  States.  As  this  is  the  first 
celebration  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the  government — the  cen- 
tennial of  the  birth  of  the  State  never  yet  having  been  commem- 
orated— the  Commission  are  extremely  solicitous  that  the  occasion 


8  Bennington  Centennial. 

shall  in  every  respect  be  worthy  of  the  great  event  the  celebration 
is  intended  to  signalize. 

The  people  of  Vermont  take  an  honest  pride  in  the  Green  Moun- 
tain. State,  and  though  reasons  multiply  why  they  do  so,  they 
simply  say, 

"  They  love  their  land  because  it  is  their  own, 
And  scorn  to  give  aught  other  reason  why." 

While,  however,  they  would  not  claim  for  it  perfection,  except  the 
perfection  of  beauty  of  landscape,  they  consider  it,  and  rightly, 
too,  the  model  State  of  the  Union,  the  best  exemplification  of  free 
government  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Born  of  a  civil  con- 
test that  taxed  tbe  resources  of  a  political  management  of  the  highest 
order;  held  at  a  distance  by  the  general  government  for  nearly  a  score 
of  years  ;  the  land  claimants  of  neighboring  states  making  her  terri- 
tory their  fighting  ground,  and  England,  during  the  revolution, 
trying  through  Canada  to  cajole,  wheedle  and  bribe  her,  Vermont 
held  her  steadfast  course,  turning  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to 
the  left,  as  firm  as  her  hills,  developing  those  principles  of  self 
government  which  have  stood  her  in  good  stead  for  a  full  century  ; 
which  have  given  her  a  place  in  the  galaxy  of  States  more  than 
commensurate  with  her  population  and  wealth  ;  which  have  enabled 
her  citizens,  widely  scattered  over  the  world,  to  impress  her  influence 
and  her  laws  on  new  communities  and  new  Stales,  and  which, 
through  a  long  line  of  her  sons,  eminent  in  character,  skillful  in 
legislation  and  wise  in  statesmanship,  have  constantly  maintained 
for  her  a  proud  position  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

The  commemoration  of  an  event  so  marked  in  the  nation's  his- 
tory as  a  State  Centennial,  is  certain  alone  to  bring  to  our  bordera 
a  large  concourse  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  A 
moment's  reflection  will  suflSce  for  this  ;  and  it  is  a  point  on  which 
it  is  unnecessary  for  the  Commission  to  enlarge  in  presenting  the 
subject  to  the  people  of  the  State.  It  is  proper,  however,  to 
impress  upon  them  the  necessity  of  making  ample  preparations  for 
80  important  an  occurrence,  and  especially  of  urging  them  to  keep 
constantly  in  view  its  high  and  worthy  object. 


Preliminary  Arrangements.  9 

On  the  16th  of  August,  1877,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
battle  of  Bennington  will  occur.  For  ninety  and  nine  years  the 
town  of  Bennington  has  observed  the  annual  recurrence  of  this 
day.  Gen.  Stark,  in  sending  some  trophies  of  the  battle  to  the 
state  of  Masachusetts,  speaks  of  it  as  "  a  glorious  victory  "  which 
"  ought  to  be  kept  in  memory  and  handed  down  to  futui'ity  as  a 
lasting  and  laudable  example  for  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
victors."  This  injunction  has  been  faithfully  obeyed  in  Benning- 
ton, the  scene  of  the  hero's  greatest  achievements.  Thirty-nine 
jears  after  the  battle  a  Bennington  committee  wrote  a  letter  to 
Stark  informing  him  that  every  year  since  his  victory  his  name  had 
been  remembered  by  a  public  celebration  in  that  town ;  and  every 
year  since  some  public  notice  has  been  made  of  the  day  there  ;  and 
■now  Vermont  herself  has  sent  greeting  to  New  Hampshire  and 
Massachusetts,  proposing  to  crown  the  century  by  a  celebration 
that  shall  worthily  honor  not  only  the  memory  of  the  hero  who  so 
thoughtfully  enjoined  it,  but  also  the  States  and  the  people  which 
shall  participate  in  it. 

Particularly  must  Vermont  be  careful  that  the  State  takes  no 
detriment  through  any  negligence  on  her  part  to  make  ample  prep- 
aration for  this  great  event.  On  this  occasion  she  acts  the  host ; 
all  others  are  her  guests.  Massachusetts  has  already,  through  her 
•Governor  and  her  Legislature,  accepted  her  invitation  as  such  ;  and 
New  Hampshire,  whose  leadership  in  the  events  which  shaped  the 
iDattle,  and  in  the  battle  itself,  are  matters  of  history,  will,  when  her 
Legislature  convenes,  doubtless  not  be  behind  her  sister  Stale.  The 
guests  which  have  been  invited  to  the  celebration  of  Vermont's 
•Centennial  have  also  been  invited  to  the  Centennial  of  the  Battle 
of  Bennington.  Military  organizations  in  very  great  numbers  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  are  anxious  to  participate  in  the  festivities 
of  the  occasion.  The  Soldiers*  Reunion  of  our  own  State,  the 
Editors  and  Publishers'  Association  of  Vermont,  and  the  Vermont 
Historical  Society  have  arranged  to  have  their  annual  or  biennial 
gatherings  here  during  centennial  week ;  and  while  for  many  of 
these  organizations  the  Commission  do  not  feel  the  same  degree  of 
responsibility  that  is  laid  upon  them  by  the  law  of  the  State  in 
regard  to  the  two  celebrations  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth,  still 


10  Bennington  Centennial. 

their  presence  here,  while  it  adds  to  the  dignity  and  character  of 
the  celebration,  adds  to  the  burdens  of  the  Commission  also. 
These  burdens  the  Commission  cannot  evade,  nor  can  the  people  of 
Vermont ;  and  it  is  to  the  people  of  Vermont  that  the  Commissioa 
would  most  earnestly  appeal.  The  State  has  appropriated  a  small 
sum  to  carry  out  the  work  it  has  set  us  to  do.  The  most  prudent 
estimates  make  not  less  than  $10,000 — and  some  reach  Si 5,000 — 
as  the  sum,  in  addition  to  the  State's  appropriation,  needed  for  Ver- 
mont to  maintain  the  dignity  of  host  on  the  important  occasioDv 
That  the  people  of  Vermont  will  cordially  respond  to  this  earnest 
appeal  of  the  Commission  for  aid  in  carrying  forward  its  noble 
object  cannot  for  a  moment  be  doubted.  While  these  lines  are 
passing  through  the  press,  its  executive  committee  is  visiting  the 
more  prominent  towns  and  villages  of  the  State,  engaged  in  secur- 
ing the  aid  and  cooperation  of  all  our  citizens  in  carrying  forward 
then*  own  and  the  people's  work.  There  must  be  no  failure  in  our 
attempts  to  celebrate  the  great  events  of  a  century  ago,  the  one 
the  birth  of  a  State,  the  other  the  event  of  a  battle  which  turned 
the  tide  of  war  to  the  side  of  the  American  arms,  and  thus  decided 
the  contest  for  independence.  As  Concord  and  Lexington  and 
Bunker  Hill,  the  beginnings  of  the  struggle  for  liberty  in  1775,  have 
been  worthily  commemorated  in  1875,  as  the  signing  of  the  immor- 
tal Declaration  at  Philadelphia  in  1776  has  been  fittingly  honored  in 
1876,  so  let  the  no  less  important  event  of  Stark's  victory  in  1777, 
which  lias  made  his  own  name  famous  and  that  of  Bennington  his- 
toric, be  ••  kept  in  memory  and  handed  down  to  futurity  as  a  lasting 
and  laudable  example  for  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  victors  '* 
by  a  commemoration  in  1877  which  sh&ll  be  alike  worthy  of  the 
memory  of  the  men  of  1777  and  their  sons  and  daughters  of  1877. 
Let  both  occasions,  Vermont's  Centennial  and  the  Centennial  of  the 
battle  of  Bennington,  be  suitably  honored  as  becomes  the  occa- 
sions themselves  and  the  dignity  of  our  noble  State. 
Henry  G.  Root,     ] 

Geo.  a.  Merrill,  Executive  Committee 

Mir.o  C.  Ruling,     \  of  the 

Carroll  S.  Page,  |     Verm,ont  Centennial  Gom,m,ission, 
A.  B.  Valentine,  J 

Rutland,  Vt.,  May  14,  1877. 


Preliminary  Arrangements.  11 

The  action  of  the  legislature  of  Yermont  was  coram nni- 
cated,  by  Grovernor  Fairbanks,  to  the  governors  of  Massachu- 
setts and  New  Hampshire,  a  copy  of  which  letter  and  the 
action  of  the  legislatures  of  those  states  thereon  will  appear 
in  another  place. 

Major  Alonzo  B.  Valentine  of  Bennington,  was  appointed 
chief  marshal,  with  full  authority  to  make  such  arrangements, 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  as  he  might 
deem  proper.  It  is  unnecessary  to  reproduce  the  several  cir- 
culars issued  by  him,  as  their  purport,  as  well  as  his  appoint- 
ments as  aids,  etc.,  will  sufficiently  appear  elsewhere. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  it  is  proper  to  say  that  while  the 
citizens  of  Bennington  generally  aided  more  or  less  in  the 
preliminary  arrangements,  the  successful  management  of  the 
details  of  the  celebration  were  due  to  the  untiring  labors  of 
the  local  members  of  the  executive  committee,  Messrs.  Henry 
G-.  Root,  Milo  C.  Huling  and  Alonzo  B.  Valentine — George 
A.  Merrill  of  Rutland,  and  Carroll  S.  Rage  of  Hyde  Park, 
aiding  in  every  way  compatible  with  their  residences  so  remote 
from  Bennington — and  to  their  associates,  subsequently  made 
members  of  the  coniinittee,  Messrs.  Olin  Scott,  J.  V.  Carney, 
William  E.  Hawkes,  2d.,  and  Frank  C.  V/hite  ;  as  well  as  to 
A.  B.  Gardner,  Charles  E.  Dewey  and  A.  P.  Childs,  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Bennington  Battle  Monument  Asso- 
ciation, and  Charles  M.  Bliss,  its  secretary,  and  particularly  to 
the  indefatigable  efforts  of  Henry  G.  Root,  in  raising  from 
the  people  of  Vermont  the  large  amount  additional  to  the 
legislative  appropriation  necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
the  celebration.  v 


12  Bennington  Centennial. 


VERMONT  DAY. 


The  independence  of  Yermont  "  as  a  separate,  free  and 
independent  jurisdiction  or  state  "  was  declared  by  a  conven- 
tion at  Westminster,  January  IT,  1T77,  but  no  appropriate 
notice  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  that  event  was  taken, 
although  local  celebrations  were  held  at  Westminster  and  else- 
where, and,  therefore,  Thursday,  August  15,  1877,  was  set 
apart  for  a  general  commemoration  under  the  auspices  of  the 
state. 

At  sunrise,  a  national  salute  was  fired  by  Fuller's  Battery, 
and  the  church  bells  of  Bennington  rang  out  a  merry  peal. 
At  half  past  nine 

THE  PROCESSION 

was  formed,  under  the  direction  of  Major  A.  B.  Valentine, 
chief  marshal,  at  the  foot  of  County  street,  near  the  railroad 
station,  in  the  following  order  : 

PLATOON    OF    POLICE. 

A.  B.  Valentine,  Chief  Marshal. 

ASSISTANTS  TO  THE  CHIEF  MARSHAL  : 

Gen.  J.  N.  Patterson  of  New  Hampshire, 
Col.  Isaac  F.  Kingsbury  of  Massachusetts. 

CHIEF   marshal's    STAFF  : 

*Maj.  E.  N.  S.  Morgan,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Col.  J.  H.  Goulding,  Adjutant  General. 

Maj.  S.  H.  Brown,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Capt.  E.  L.  Roberts,  Assistant  Adiutant  General. 


^^OVERNOR    OF  VERMONT. 


137  6-7  8, 


Yernnont  Day.  13 

J.  L.  Mavtin,  Chief  Quartermaster. 

H.  G.  Root,  Assistant  Quartermaster. 

*Chas.  E.  Dewey,  H.  B.  Kent, 

Barber  Chase,  Park  Valentine, 

J.  K.  Batchelder,  C.  R.  Sanford, 

*M.  B.  Morgan,  O.  D.  Adams, 

Col.  H.  B.  Clapp,  *W.  E.  Hawks, 

Col.  A.  G.  Watson,  C.  H.  Forbes, 

George  A.  Smith,  H.  E.  Bradford, 

♦Edward  Kinsley,  W.  A.  Root, 

G.  H.  Day,  *S.  B.  Hall, 

♦Moses  Robinson,  W.  H.  Willard, 

♦Olin  Scott,  Gilman  Warren, 

♦James  H.  White,  A.  J.  Tucker, 

G.  B.  Sibley,  Dexter  Waite, 

Capt.  H.  L.  Shields,  S.  D.  Curtis. 


RIGHT  DIVISION. 

Col.  W.  G.  Veazey,  Marshal,  Commanding. 

STAFF  : 

Maj.  E.  J.  Ormsbee,    Col.  M.  S.  Colburn,  Capt.  E.  A.  Morse, 

Col.  K.  Haskins,  Capt.  E.  "H.  Armstrong,    Maj.  R.  B.  Ames. 

ESCORT  : 

Ransom  Guard  Band. 

FIRST  REGIMENT  NATIONAL  GUARD  OF  VERMONT, 

Col.  T.  S.  Peck,  Commanding. 
His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  and  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  Staff. 
President  of  the  Day,  Hon.  E.  J.  Phelps. 
Orator  of  the  Day,  Daniel  Roberts. 
Reader  of  Mrs.  Dorr's  Poem,  Prof  J.  W,  Churchill  of  Andover, 

Mass. 
Park  Guard  Band. 


14  Bennington  Centennial. 

BENNINGTON    BATTLE   MONUMENT    ASSOCIATION. 

His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  President. 

EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE  : 

A.  B.  Gardner,  A.  B.  Valentine,  A.  P.  Childs,  Charles  E.  Dewey, 

Olin  Scott. 
Members  of  the  Association. 

VERMONT    CENTENNIAL    COMMISSION. 

First  Vice-President,  Hon.  Hiland  Hall. 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE: 

Henry  G.  Root,  Chairman;  M.  C.   Huling,  A.  B.  Valentine, 

Geo.  A.  Merrill,  C.  S.  Page,  Charles  M.  Bliss,  Secretary. 

Members  of  the  Commission. 

Distinguished  Guests. 


CENTER    DIVISION. 

Gen.  W.  W.  Henry,  Marshal,  Commanding. 

STAFF  : 

Maj.  E.  P.  Farr,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Jas.  B.  Scully,  A.  A.  G.,  Geo.  Austin,  Capt.  E.  C.  Houghton, 

Capt.  A.  G.  Potter,  J.  V.  Hupf,  H.  S.  Bingham, 

*Andrew  Keyes,  *Fred  Pratt, 

Buel  J.  Derby. 

ESCORT : 

Putnam  Phalanx  Fife  and  Drum  Corps. 

PUTNAM   PHALANX    OF    HARTKORD,    CONN., 

Maj.  F.  M.  Brown,  Commanding. 

STATE  GOVERNMENT  OF  VERMONT. 

Executive  Department. 

His  Honor,  Redfield  Proctoi",  Lieutenant  Governor 

George  Nichols,  Secretary  of  State. 

John  A.  Page,  Treasurer. 

Jed  P.  Ladd,  Auditor. 


Yermont  Day.  15 

James  S.  Peck,  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General. 

Levi  G.  Kingsley,  Quartermaster  General. 

Joel  H.  Lucia,  Judge  Advocate  General. 

Henry  C.  Newell,  Surgeon  General. 

T.  C.  Phinney,  Sergeant-at-Arms. 

A.  E.  Rankin,  Secretary  of  Civil  and  Military  Affairs. 

THE    STATE    JUDICIARY. 

Hon.  John  Pierpoint,  Chief  Justice. 

Hon.  James  Barrett,  Hon.  Homer  E.  Royce,  Hon.  Timothy  P. 

Redfield,  Hon.  Jonathan  Ross,  Hon.  H.  Henry  Powers, 

Hon.  Walter  C.  Dunton,  Justices. 

The  Senate  of  Vermont,  Hon.  Wm.  W.  Grout,  President  pro  tem. 

F.  W.  Baldwin,  Secretary. 

The  House  of  Representatives,   Hon.  John  W.  Stewart,  Speaker. 

George  R.  Chapman,  Clerk. 

Ex-Governors  of  Vermont. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor  ot  Maine,  and  Staff. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  and  Staff, 

Escorted  by  the  Amoskeag  Veterans. 

His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Staff. 

Governors  of  other  States. 

Band. 

Battalion  of  New  Hampshire  Militia,  commanded  by  Col.  D.  M 

White,  escorting  State  Officials  of  New  Hampshire. 

EXECUTIVE    COUNCIL. 

Hon.  J.  B.  Smith,  Hon.  John  M.  Parker,  Hon.  Edward  Spaulding 
Hon.  Francis  A.  Cushman,  Hon.  Jeremiah  Blodgett. 

STATE  OFFICERS. 

Hon.  A.  B.  Thompson,  Secretary  of  State. 
Hon.  Solon  A..  Cai'ter,  Treasurer. 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Bouton,  D.  D.,  State  Historian. 
Hon.  Oliver  Pillsbury,  Insurance  Commissioner. 
William  H.  Sise,  Commissary  General. 
President  of  the  Senate,  Hon.  Natt  Head. 
Speaker  of  the  House,  Hon  A.  A.  Woolson. 


16  £enningt07i  Centennial. 

Legislature  of  New  Hampshire. 

Col.  Chas.  C.  Danforth,  Clerk  of  House. 

A.  W.  Baker,  Assistant  Clerk  of  House. 

Manchester  War  Veterans  of  New  Hampshire  Militia,  Capt.  Geo 

H.  Dodge,  escorting  City  Government  of  Manchester,  N.  H. 

Hon.  Ira  Cross,  Mayor. 

Members  of  the  City  Government. 


LEFT    DIVISION. 

Col.  George  W.  Hooker,  Marshal,  Commanding. 

STAFF  : 

Col.  D.  D.  Wheeler,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Gen.  W.  W.  Lynde,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Maj.  Henry  R.  Chase,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

Maj.  H.  R.  Lawrence,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 
Barney  Cameron,  S.  W.  Bailey, 

C.  M.  Russell,  H.  M.  Currier, 

H.  F.  Brooks,  A.  M.  McDonald, 

Dr.  E.  J.  Titus,  R.  M.  Silsby, 

A.  R.  Dunklee,  H.  G.  Porter, 

A.  Starkey,  Maj.  B,  R.  Jenne, 

J.  G.  Taylor,  C.  L.  Piper, 

C.  W.  Stewart,  Dr.  Henry  Tucker, 

D.  S.  Priest,  Col.  Preston  C.  F.  West,. 
C.  H.  Norton,                                  J.  G.  Martin, 

Maj.  R.  M.  Gould,  B.  F.  Phelps, 

C.  F.  Estabrook,  N.  L  Hawley, 

G.  E.  Selleck,  F.  E.  Ray, 

Dr.  Walter  Mendelson,  H.  M.  Wilder, 

H.  E.  Taylor,  J.  H.  Cutler. 
S.  Wright  Bowker, 

VETERA.N    soldiers'    REUNION, 

Col.  John  E.  Pratt,  Commanding,  and  Staff". 
Sherman  Band. 


Vermont  Day.  17 

1st  Brigade — Col.  A.  F,  Walker,  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Band. 
2d  Brigade — Col.  F.  G.  Butterfield,  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Band. 
3d  Brigade — Col.  A.  S.  Tracy,  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Baud. 

4th  Brigade — Col.  F.  V.  Randall,  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Guests  of  the  Reunion. 

Other  civic  and  military  organizations  of  Vermont. 

Fuller  Battery,  N.  G,  of  Yt.,  Capt.  Levi  K.  Fuller,  Commanding. 

The  column  moved  on  time  through  County,  School,  Main, 
Silver,  Union  and  South  streets,  passing  under  the  Grand 
Arch  on  Main  street,  to  Dewey  street,  and  thence  to  the  cen- 
tennial grounds — the  streets  being  lined  with  people,  and  the 
houses  literally  covered  with  banners  and  other  decorations — 
where  the  following  exercises  took  place  : 


EXERCISES  AT  THE  ORATION  TENT. 

After  music  by  the  band,  Hon.  E.  J.  Phelps,  president  of 
the  day,  called  upon  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings,  pastor  of  the  old 
First  church  of  Bennington,  who  offered  the  following 

PRAYER : 

O  God,  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  upholder  of  all  things : 
On  this  occasion  so  full  of  momentous  interest  and  of  great  solem- 
nity we  lift  our  hearts  reverently  in  prayer  to  Thee.  This  common- 
wealth having  reached  its  centennial  anniversary — in  the  presence 
of  sister  states  represented  here,  and  united  in  heart  with  them — 
offers  its  thanksgivings  to  Thee  for  Thy  great  mercies  to  us  as  a 
people  ;  and  humbly  supplicates  Thy  forgiveness  for  our  sins,  and 
the  continuance  of  Thy  gracious  and  Fatherly  care. 


'Lineal  descendants  of  those  who  foughi,  in  the  Battle  of  Bennington. 
2 


18  Bennington   Centennial. 

We  praise  Thee  for  Thy  good  providence  toward  this  common- 
wealth in  the  early  settlement  of  its  people.  We  thank  Thee  for 
the  faithful  and  heroic  men  and  women  of  its  early  history :  that 
Thou  didst  preserve  and  prosper  them  as  they  came  here  to  rear 
up  habitations  and  to  establish  homes  in  this  then  savage  wilder- 
ness ;  that  Thou  didst  help  and  bless  them,  amid  every  perplexity,. 
and  during  their  long  continued  and  arduous  struggle  to  maintain 
possession  of  the  lands  and  property  they  had  so  honorably  acquired 
and  improved.  We  praise  Thee  for  the  wisdom  Thou  gavest  to 
the  men  who  founded  the  state,  for  their  love  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  their  self-sacrificing  and  tireless  labors  in  the  establishment 
of  this  as  a  separate  state  among  its  sister  states  of  this  Republic. 
We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  didst  enable  them,  and  put  it  into  their 
hearts,  to  exert  an  influence  upon  the  American  cause  that  was  not 
indecisive  nor  unimportant ;  that  Thou  didst  bless  their  arms  in 
the  day  of  hostile  approach  and  of  battle, — that  their  how  abode  in 
strength^  and  the  arms  of  their  hands  were  made  strong  hy  the 
hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob. 

Almighty  God  our  Heavenly  Father ;  We  praise  Thee  for  the 
loyalty  and  patriotism  of  the  people  of  this  state  continued  to  the 
present  time  ;  that  so  conspicuously  her  oflScers  have  been  peace 
and  her  exactors  righteousness.  We  praise  Thee  for  virtue,  and 
the  general  intelligence,  and  means  of  education,  for  religion — its 
light,  its  institutions,  its  sanctifying  power,  and  its  immortal  hopes. 
We  praise  Thee  for  these  things  as  vouchsafed  to  the  nation,  and 
to  the  states  more  particularly  represented  here  in  this  centennial, 
but  also  especially  now  on  behalf  of  this  commonwealth — for  fer- 
tility and  health  and  industry  in  the  communities  up  and  down 
these  beautiful  vallies  and  mountain  sides  ;  for  those  born  and 
reared  here  who  go  forth  into  all  lands,  in  all  professions  and  in 
responsible  relations  of  life,  serving  God,  their  generation  and 
mankind. 

O  God,  "  from  whom  all  holy  desires,  all  good  counsels,  and  all 
just  works  do  proceed,"  give  unto  us  grace  "  that  our  hearts  may 
be  set  to  obey  Thy  commandments."  May  we  "knoio  Thee,  the 
God  of  our  fathers,  and  serve  Ihee  with  a  perfect  heart  and  with 


Vermont  Day.  19 

a  willing  mind ;  for  Thou  searchest  all  hearts,  and  understandest 
all  the  imaginations  of  the  thoughts  ;  if  we  seek  Thee  Thou  wilt  be 
found  of  us,  but  if  tee  forsake  Thee  Thou  wilt  cast  us  off  forever. 
Continue  to  bless  us  more  and  more,  we  beseech  Thee,  in  our  laws, 
in  our  institutions  of  learning  and  religion,  and  in  the  upright  and 
faithtul  spirit  of  the  people.  Shine  forth  uyon  us  always.  Lead 
forward  our  beloved  state  in  the  future  that  she  may  never  forteit 
or  tarnish  her  fair  renown.  Bless  and  prosper  Thy  servant  the 
chief  magistrate  of  this  commonwealth.  Aid  and  succeed  him 
abundantly  in  all  the  duties  of  his  high  office,  and  likewise  all  who 
with  him  are  intrusted  with  the  administration  of  our  public  affairs. 

Almighty  God,  we  thank  Thee  that  we  gather  together  to-day 
in  a  land  of  liberty,  and  that  these  heavens  look  down  upon  our 
country  united  and  in  peace.  We  beseech  Thee  to  bless  and 
prosper  Thy  servant  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  all 
who  are  in  authority  over  us,  induing  them  with  all  needed  skill, 
understanding  and  fidelity  "  that  all  things  may  be  so  ordered  and 
settled  by  their  endeavors  upon  the  best  and  surest  foundations, 
that  peace  and  happiness,  truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety, 
may  be  established  among  us  for  all  generations.'* 

Have  mercy,  we  beseech  Thee,  upon  all  men  in  all  parts  of  the 
world  who  specially  need  Thy  help.  Great  God,  remember  us  in 
all  our  exposure  to  the  hostilities  ot  men  and  to  conflicts  with 
others.  Hasten  the  progress  of  His  Kingdom,  whose  victories  are 
peace  and  whose  reign  brings  unity,  love  and  joy  to  the  earth. 
Help  us,  O  Heavenly  Father,  in  every  arduous  moment  of  our 
lives,  in  the  responsible  future  to  which  we  inevitably  go  on.  Be, 
in  our  hearts,  a  holy  purpose  of  duty  to  Thee,  a  blessed  spirit  of 
confidence  in  Thy  providential  care,  and  Thy  forgiving  mercy.  In 
weakness  be  Thou  our  strength ;  in  sinfulness  be  Thou  our  deliv- 
erer from  its  guilt  and  power.  Under  the  cares  and  burthens  of 
this  life  be  Thou  our  upholder  and  stay ;  and  in  death  be  Thou  our 
everlasting  life. 

Bless  Thy  servants  who  are  to  address  us  on  this  occasion.  May 
the  exercises  and  transactions  of  this  celebration  be  so  ordered  in 
Thy  good  providence,  and  so  undertaken  and  carried  through  under 


20  3ennington  Centennial. 

Thy  guidance  as  to  be  to  Thy  honor  and  glory,  and  promotive  of 
the  welfare  of  this  commonwealth,  and  of  us  all. 
We  ask  all  in  the  name  of  Christ  our  Saviour. 

And  to  the  Blather,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  the  gloiy 
forever. — Amen. 

After  the  prayer,  Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps,  president  of  the 
day,  delivered  the  following  address  of  welcome  : 

PRESIDENT  PHELPS'  ADDRESS  OP  WELCOME. 

I  have  but  few  words  to  offer,  my  friends,  in  introducing  the 
services  appointed  for  this  occasion.  The  state  of  Vermont  com- 
memorates to-day  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  her  birth,  the 
termination,  the  happy  and  prosperous  termination,  of  the  first 
century  of  her  existence  as  an  independent  state.  To-mon'ow  we 
shall  signalize  one  of  the  important  victories  of  the  revolutionary 
battlefields.  To-day  is  devoted  to  those  other  victories,  not  less 
renowned  and  not  less  fruitful — the  victories  of  peace.  To  all  who 
have  assembled  here,  whether  friends  or  strangers,  to  the  distin- 
guished guests  that  grace  this  occasion  with  their  presence,  to  all 
the  children  of  Vermont  who  from  near  and  far,  from  many  homes, 
have  gathered  to  honor  the  centennial  birthday  of  their  native 
state,  I  am  charged  on  her  behalf  to  extend  a  kindly,  a  cordial,  a 
generous  welcome.  Larger  and  i-icher  states  might  offer  you  more 
splendid  hospitalities,  more  imposing  ceremonies,  a  more  magni- 
ficent display.  Ours  are  plain  and  simple,  such  as  befit  the  habits 
of  our  people,  and  the  character  of  those  institutions  whose  origin 
we  celebrate. 

This  day  is  consecrated  to  the  past.  All  the  histoi*y,  all  the 
memories  of  the  century  that  is  now  closing  upon  our  common- 
wealth, its  early  struggles,  its  vicissitudes,  its  hopes,  its  fears,  its 
steadfast  march,  the  glory  of  its  wars,  the  serenity  of  its  peace, 
all  these  crowd  upon  our  hearts,  and  are  the  recollections  appro- 
priate to  the  observances  of  the  hour.  Especially  is  this  day  sacred 
to  the  memory  of  the  men  who  laid  broad  and  deep  in  the  early 
days,  the  foundation  of  the  institutions  under  which  we  live.     And 


E.    J.    PHELFS. 


Vermont  Day.  21 

not  only  do  we  remember  at  a  time  like  this,  those  distinguished 
leaders  whose  names  are  as  household  words  among  us  ;  not  the 
less  do  we  honor  the  rank  and  file,  that  whole  noble  generation  of 
men,  who,  all  the  days  of  their  lives,  and  through  all  the  avocations 
of  their  lives,  gave  to  the  service  and  welfare  ot  the  state — their 
state — the  best  they  had.  Unnamed,  unheralded,  for  the  most  part, 
they  stand  out  against  the  horizon  of  our  history  like  the  stately 
trees  of  the  primeval  forest,  which  like  them  have  passed  away. 
Without  their  aid,  their  patriotism  and  their  efiorts,  the  master 
spirits  would  have  planned  and  toiled  in  vain.  And  we  are  to 
remember,  if  there  is  anything  in  our  institutions  that  is  worthy 
of  being  cherished,  if  there  is  anything  of  value  in  those  traditions 
which  are  stronger  than  institutions,  and  on  which  the  life  of  insti- 
tutions 'depends,  it  is  not  our  achievement,  it  is  our  inheritance 
from  them. 

They  have  all  passed  away,  that  noble  race.  Some  of  their 
immediate  descendants  are  here  among  our  most  welcome  guests 
to-day,  but  the  last  of  the  men  of  that  time  has  long  ago  been 
gathered  to  his  fathers.  Few  monuments  mark  their  resting- 
places  ;  few  vestiges  of  their  incftvidual  lite  remain ;  but  all  around 
and  about  us,  in  our  prosperous  industries,  our  happy  homes,  oar 
educated  intelligence,  our  beneficent  institutions,  in  the  salutary 
laws  that  protect  liberty,  and  the  enlightened  liberty  that  upholds 
the  law,  in  everything  that  is  comprehended  to  us  under  the 
beloved  name  of  Vermont,  is  to  be  found  their  monument,  more 
durable  than  marble,  more  beautiful  than  gold.  And  if  the  business 
of  this  day  has  any  significance,  if  the  memories  we  are  here  to 
recall  have  any  value,  or  serve  to  point  any  moral,  it  is  in  teaching 
us,  that  if  we  would  preserve  the  inheritance  we  have  received,  we 
must  perpetuate  likewise  in  our  people,  the  character  of  the  men 
from  whom  we  received  it. 

"  111  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay." 

If  we  are  to  preserve  our  government,  we  must  maintain  the  old 
land-marks,  and  stand  fast  by  the  old  traditions.     And  now,  as  we 


22  Jiennington  Centennial. 

pause  on  the  threshold  of  the  coming  centuiy,  and  review  the  lives 
and  character  and  labors  of  that  first  generation  of  Vermonters,  let 
us  take  to  heart  as  the  great  lesson  of  the  hour,  that  if  we  are  to 
achieve  the  salvation  of  our  country,  \f;e  must  do  it  by  emulating 
their  virtues,  and  by  imitating  their  example. 

Daniel  Koberts,  of  Burlington,  was  then  introduced  as  the 
orator  of  the  day,  w^ho  pronounced  the  following  oration : 

MR.  ROBERTS'  ORATION. 
Sons  of   Vermont — My  brothers: 

Around  this,  her  ancient  hearth-stone,  our  mother  state  has 
called  her  children  together  to  celebrate  her  hundredth  birth-day. 
It  is  well.  The  call  standi  justified  by  the  occasion,  and  the  place 
of  our  gathering  best  befits  both. 

The  founding  of  a  state  is  a  great  eVent  in  the  world's  history, 
forming  an  epoch  in  the  social,  civil  and  governmental  reckoning  of 
nations.  The  names  of  the  founders  of  states  are  the  great  names 
of  history.  The  names  of  the  founders  of  free  states  demand 
reverence  and  special  honors ;  for  of  states  free  created,  the  number 
is  but  small,  and  the  names  of  the  founders  of  such  shine  but  here 
and  there  in  solitary  brilliancy,  too  few  and  too  scattered  to  form 
constellations  in  the  heavens  of  history.  Since  the  formation  of  the 
American  Union,  the  new  states,  from  time  to  time  added,  have* 
for  the  most  part,  been  but  oi'dinary  accessions  to  the  family  of 
states,  without  special  throe  of  birth.  These,  born  to  an  inher- 
itance of  freedom,  received  through  infancy  and  adolescence  a 
mother's  nourishment  and  care,  and  emerged  into  free  self-govern- 
ment through  the  regular  process  of  growth, — the  infant  become  of 
age.  Not  so  Vermont,  which  was  rather  free  created  than  thus 
free  born ;  or,  I  may  say,  developed  into  organized  life  and  form 
from  the  germinal  principle  of  individual  freedom  and  liberty  of 
free  choice.  No  mother's  care  cradled  or  nurtured  it,  but,  rocked 
by  storm  and  tempest  and  nurtured  of  the  elements,  this  child  of  the 
forest  and  the  mountains  won  for  itself  place,  and  took  it,  as  a  free 
state,  not  only  "  independent  of  all  "  but  in  defiance  of  all   "  save 


,vf^' 


/- 


^f>l 


Vermont  Day.  23 

the  mercies  of  God,"  In  this  regard,  its  case  is  quite  exceptional 
Among  the  American  states  ; — made  so  through  the  great  sagacity 
and  indomitable  will  ot  a  race  of  heroes,  as  wise  as  they  were  brave. 
Thus  created  a  free  state,  and  having  so  lived  and  flourished  for  a 
hundred  years,  it  is  well  that  her  children  of  to-day  mark  the  event 
and  celebrate  it. 

It  is  well,  too,  that  we  meet  here  for  our  festival ; — here  in  Ben- 
■nmgton,  the  namesake  of  the  royal  governor  of  New  Hampshire 
who  granted  this  town  its  charter,  the  first  of  the  one  hundred  and 
thirty  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants.  Here  was  the  earliest  consid- 
erable settlement  of  the  then  wilderness.  Here,  more  than  else- 
where, occuiTed  the  stirring  events  of  our  colonial  life  pregnant  of 
the  future  state.  Here  was  the  state's  cradle,  and  her  early  hearth- 
stone. Here  gathered  the  heroes  of  that  day,  the  demi-gods  of  this, 
in  council  of  safety,  and  of  war,  for  defence  against  the  common 
enemy  of  the  infant  nation,  and  against  the  special  enemies  of  the 
hardy  settlers  of  "the  Grants,' — those  land  jobbers  and  free-booters 
along  the  Hudson,  toward  whom  the  catamount  from  landlord 
Fay's  tavern  sign  grinned  angry  defiance.  Here,  early  in  May, 
1775,  mustered  that  patriot  band  whose  ears  had  but  just  caught  the 
echo  of  that  first  shot  fired  at  Lexington,  and  from  here  they  went 
forth  under  the  leadership  of  Ethan  Allen,  "  in  the  name  of  the 
Great  Jehovah,"  to  the  capture  of  Fort  Ticonderoga ;  and  from 
here  marched  Stark,  with  his  braves  and  the  G"een  Mountain  Boys, 
just  across  the  bordei*,  where  they  made  the  16th  of  August  immor- 
tal ;  and  to  this  place  they  returned,  bringing  their  foes  captive. 
With  such  reminiscences  of  these  early  days  and  associations  of 
place,  I  am  to  speak  to  you,  but  cursorily  and  briefly,  of  what  they 
suggest, — of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  of  Vermont,  and  how 
this  came  to  be  a  state, — and  somewhat  of  its  characteristics  a 
hundred  years  ago,  and  since,  and  now. 

This  land  of  ours,  which  we  now  call  Vermont,  had  before  1760 
become  extensively  known  to  the  men  of  New  England  by  explora- 
tion, the  visits  of  hunters,  and  the  numerous  military  expeditions, 
which,  starting  from  the  heart  of  New  England,  had,  for  successive 
years  during  the  French  and  English  war,  traversed  it.     The  cession 


24  Bennington  Centennial. 

of  Canada  to  Great  Britain  and  the  conclusion  of  peace  left  these 
lands  open  for  settlement,  undisturbed  by  further  terrors  of  French 
and  Indian  inroads.  The  inducements  to  immigration  and  settle- 
ment here,  we  of  this  age  should  reckon  not  inviting.  There  were 
no  prairies  spread  out  in  readiness  lor  the  plongh  ;  no  open  pas- 
tures ready  prepared  for  sheep  and  oxen  ;  no  tropic  climate  and 
fruits  inviting  to  rest  from  labor  and  to  easy  fruition  ;  nor  yet  fresh 
disco vei'ed  gold  fields  to  set  on  fire  the  lust  of  men  and  draw  them, 
as  by  a  sucking  whirlwind,  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  in  a 
mad  rush  to  fortune — or  a  grave;  but,  on  the  contrary,  valley  and 
mountain  sides  covered  with  forests  which  kept  out  the  sunlight, 
and  concealed  below  their  interlacing  roots  the  possible  meadow, 
pasture  and  cornfield,  but  possible  only  to  the  sweat  of  labor  and 
the  pain  of  toil ;  short  summers,  with  frosts  both  late  and  early ; 
long  winters  bound  in  ice  and  buried  in  snow.  But  to  men  like 
our  grandsires,  trained  to  labor  and  hardship,  the  sons  of  genera- 
tions of  men  to  whose  axes  the  sight  of  tree  had  been  a  constant 
temptation,  there  was  nothing  in  climate  or  savage  features  of  the 
land  to  deter  from  following  the  emigrating  instinct  of  the  race ; 
and  so  long  as  they  could,  in  the  mind's  eye,  see  among  the  dissolv- 
ing forests  the  comfortable  homestead,  the  waving  gi-ainfields,  the 
garden  and  the  orchard,  the  school  house,  the  meeting  house,  the  mill 
and  the  village,  creations  of  their  industry,  they  were  rather  incited 
than  repelled  by  the  difficulties  which  nature  had  interposed  in  the 
way  to  such  fruition.  With  the  thought  of  bettering  their  condi- 
tion, in  a  mere  prosaic  sense,  the  love  of  adventure,  the  love  of  the 
new  and  untried  to  find  what  may  be  in  it,  love  of  the  free  life  of 
the  woods  and  of  a  new  society,  doubtless,  added  romance  to  the 
movement.     Yet  it  was  no  Texas  or  California  that  allured  them. 

Another  reason  for  this  early  emigration,  paiticularly  from  Mas- 
sachusetts and  Connecticut,  and  which  prevailed  to  a  considerable 
extent,  partook  of  a  religious  character,  and  was  akin  to  that  which 
impelled  their  ancestors,  the  Puritans  and  the  Pilgrims,  to  leave 
their  homes  in  England  for  the  sake  of  founding  a  church  of  their 
liking  and  freedom  of  worship  in  the  New  England  wilderness ;  for 
it  is  written  of  these  early  immigrants  by  one  of  their  number,  that 


Vermont  Day.  25 

"  gi'eat  numbers  of  the  early  settlers  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants 
were  of  the  sect  of  New  Lights,  or  Separates,  who  lied  from  perse- 
cution in  the  New  England  states,  and  found  an  asylum  here, 
where  they  enjoyed  their  religious  liberty."  This  persecution  spoken 
of  came  naturally  of  the  ideas  then  prevalent,  that  one  of  the  func- 
tions of  government  was  to  aid  the  church  in  enforcing  upon  the 
whole  community  conformity  of  doctrines  and  worship  "to  the  word 
©f  God," — that  is,  practically,  conformity  to  the  prevailing  religious 
belief,  and  those  standards  of  belief,  or  profession,  called  orthodox, 
to  be  found  in  certain  accredited  "  platforms."  Upon  the  New 
Lights  in  doctrine,  and  the  Separates  from  the  standing  order,  it 
bore  hard  to  be  compelled  by  law  to  pay  towards  the  building  of 
meeting  houses  which  they  would  not  attend,  and  to  contribute  to 
the  support  of  ministers  to  whom  they  would  not  listen,  and  this, 
while  sustaining,  unaided,  their  own  systems  of  worship  and  teach- 
ing ;  and  then,  if  their  own  ministers  chanced  to  be  caught  preach- 
ing outside  the  limits  of  their  own  parish,  without  orderly  invita- 
tion, to  see  them  treated  as  poachers  or  tramps,  with  fines  and  the 
stocks.  The  religious  liberty  which  they  enjoyed  in  this  their 
asylum  they  founded  and  established.  They  stamped  upon  their 
earliest  church  records  their  repudiation  of  the  doctrine  of  state 
interference  with  matters  of  religious  doctrine  and  worship,  and 
made  their  plan  of  organization  as  a  church  a  charter  of  religious 
liberty.  Thus  in  organizing  "the  church  of  Christ  in  Bennington," 
December  3,  1762,  the  first  church  orginization  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  it  was  agreed  and  voted  to  except,  from  their  adoption 
of  the  Cambridge  platform,  that  part  "  in  respect  of  using  the  civil 
law  to  support  the  gospel,"  and  also  that  part  "  in  respect  of  the 
civil  magistrate's  coercive  power." 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the  religious  teachings,  customs  and 
observances  of  the  New  England  of  that  day,  it  can  not  be  denied 
that  they  trained  up  a  people  mighty  in  the  scriptures,  schooled  to 
great  acuteness  of  intellectual  perception  by  study  of  the  meta- 
physics of  theology,  practice  of  its  dialectics,  and  clash  of  discussion 
of  the  mysteries  of  religion  and  the  entanglements  of  creed ;  and 
that  the   study  of  the  questions  of  church  government  educated 


26  Bennington  Centennial. 

them  to  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  all  just  government,  and 
their  application  to  the  affairs  of  the  state.  Bigots  shall  we  call 
them  ?  They  were  indeed  religious  according  to  the  law  and  logic 
of  religion,  rather  than  in  its  emotions  and  enthusiasms.  I  would 
rather  say  of  them  that  they  were  God  fearing  men,  and  so  in  fear 
of  no  one  else ;  orderly,  self-restrained,  though  self-reliant  in  thought 
and  will,  staunch,  stable ; — men  stiff  in  opposition,  stout  in  resist- 
ance, determined  in  defence  of  their  rights  against  aggression. 

Though  these  first  immigrants  were  mostly  farmers,  not  greatly 
conversant  with  books,  save  the  one  book,  yet  coming  from  the 
then  most  enlightened  part  of  America,  the  heart  of  New  England, 
the  home  of  the  school-house  and  the  meeting-house,  and  of  those 
little  town  democracies,  training  schools  in  the  science  of  popular 
self-government,  they  were  by  no  means  rude,  and  had  that  prac- 
tical education  in  the  common  affairs  of  civil  life  which  books  can- 
not give.  The  minister,  if  he  did  not  come  in  their  company,  soon 
followed,  together  with  the  lawyer,  the  physician,  graduates  of 
college  and  men  of  culture,  so  that,  one_  hundred  years  ago,  and 
from  the  earliest  controversy  about  title  and  jurisdiction  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  down  to  the  final  admission  of  the  state  of 
Vermont  to  the  Union  of  the  United  States,  March  4,  1791.  it  may 
be  fairly  doubted,  whether  these  people  were  not  as  intelligent  as 
any  community  of  equal  number  then  in  New  England.  This  may 
be  safely  said,  that  none  were  better  suited  to  the  turbulent  times  ; 
none  who  ever  conducted  more  wisely,  astutely  and  bravely  than 
they  managed  the  affairs  of  peace  and  of  war,  and  of  that  half  war, 
half  lawsuit,  which  so  long  raged  between  the  settlers  and  the  land 
jobbers  of  New  York,  with  its  complications  of  boundary,  jurisdic- 
tion and  title,  and  collision  of  conflicting  claims  of  New  York,  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts ; — the  men  of  Concord  and  Lexington 
not  readier  than  they,  to  spring  up  in  resistance  to  the  aggi'es- 
sions  of  Great  Britain  upon  the  liberties  of  the  colonies ;  nor  any 
more  patriotic,  self-sacrificing,  united  and  steadfast  in  defense  of 
the  common  cause ; — none  shrewder  and  wiser  in  the  diplomacy  of 
war  than  the  leaders  of  these  people,  who,  when  the  infant  state, 
unsupported  by  congress  and  deserted  by  the  neighboring  states, 


Yermont  Day.  27 

was  left  alone  to  make  such  defense  as  she  could  against  a  powerful 
invasion  by  the  common  enemy  gathering  upon  her  northern  bor- 
der, repelled  the  invasion  and  secured  victory  without  conflict, 
disarming  the  foe  by  the  charm  ol  words,  and,  by  the  finesse  of  war, 
securing  to  the  common  cause  the  results  of  a  successful  campaign  ; 
— and  none  who  ever  displayed  a  keener  sagacity  and  skill  of 
politic  administration  and  management  than  they  who  made  "  the 
Grants  "  a  state ; — who  maintained  its  independence  as  a  separate 
sovereignty  for  fourteen  years,  and  then  put  it  in  place  as  one  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

Upon  plain  grounds  of  common  justice,  the  rebellion  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants,  so  far  as  it  was  a  rebellion,  and  the  forming  of 
an  independent  state,  stand  justified.  The  rebellion  was  against 
the  injustice  of  robbery,  and  the  state  was  a  necessity  as  an  instru- 
ment of  resistance.  The  lands  embraced  within  the  tei'ritorial 
limits  of  this  present  state  of  Vermont  had  been  understood  to  be 
within  the  limits  and  jurisdiction  of  the  province  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Upon  this  understanding,  the  royal  governor  of  that 
colony,  Benuing  Wentworth,  had  granted  by  charter  in  the  king's 
name  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  townships  of  these  lands,  or 
nearly  three  millions  of  acres,  in  shares,  to  some  eight  thousand 
persons,  when  on  the  20th  day  of  July,  1764,  without  notice  to  l^e 
settlers  and  plainly  against  their  wishes,  the  colonial  government 
of  New  York  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  king  in  council  an 
order  declaring  the  west  bank  of  the  Connecticut  River  to  be  the 
boundary  line  between  the  two  provinces  of  New  Hampshire 
and  New  York, — thus  placing  the  settlers  upon  those  Grants  and 
their  lands  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York.  Since  the  title  to 
these  lands  was  originally  in  the  king  and  the  king  had  granted 
them,  and  the  purchase  price  may  be  said  to  have  gone  into  the 
king's  treasury,  the  question  of  rightful  colonial  jurisdiction  hardly 
seems  to  touch  the  question  of  legal  right  to  the  lands  ;  and,  cer- 
tainly, since  the  lands  had  been  purchased  and  paid  for  in  good  faith, 
it  was  a  plain  violation  of  equity  on  the  part  of  the  colonial  govern- 
ment of  New  York,  to  treat  those  grants  as  void  and  tlie  settlers  as 
trespassers,  and  to  regrant  the  lands  to  strangers,  and  thus  turn  out 


28  Bennington  Centennial. 

from  their  new  made  homes  a  whole  people  to  beggary  and  vaga- 
bondage. Nor  does  any  effect  of  the  order  establishing  the  bound- 
ary, such  as  to  impair  by  retroaction  the  royal  grants  already  made, 
seem  to  have  been  intended  by  the  home  government.  But  the  New 
York  government  gave  the  order  this  interpretation,  treating  it  as 
the  sanction  of  their  previous  claim  of  jurisdiction  and  right ;  and 
80,  successive  royal  governors  of  that  colony  set  to  woi'k  granting 
these  lands  in  large  tracts,  upon  careful  selection  and  survey  of  the 
best,  to  their  retainers  and  favorites,  regardless  wholly  of  the  rights 
of  the  settlers  under  the  New  Hampshire  charters.  This  injustice 
had  its  incentive  in  the  greed  of  those  govei'nors  to  acquire 
fortunes  for  themselves  by  the  extravagant  fees  demanded  and 
paid  for  such  grants,  or  by  themselves  and  their  favorites  becoming 
partners  with  other  speculators  and  jobbers  in  the  lands  granted. 
The  injustice  of  thus  disregarding  the  claims  of  the  settlers  was 
80  manifest  and  gross  as  to  receive  the  rebuke  of  the  home  govern- 
ment and  repeated  prohibitions  ;  but  the  loyalty  of  these  tory 
governors  gave  way  at  the  point  where  the  royal  order  touched 
their  own  emoluments,  and  the  bad  work  went  on  as  before  ;  and 
so  the  honest  settler  became  accustomed  to  see  surveying  parties  of 
Yorkers  crossing  his  out-fields  :  id  circling  his  homestead  in  their 
delineations  of  manors  and  baronies,  and  to  receive  their  saluta- 
tions of  notice  to  quit.  Strange  sheriffs  appeared  for  service  of 
process  of  ejectment,  calling  him  to  Albany  to  answer  to  the  plaint 
of  some  speculator,  disguised  under  the  name  of  John  Doe,  who 
pretended  to  have  bought  from  under  him  the  lands  he  had  bought, 
paid  for,  cleared  and  tilled,  and  the  house  which  sheltered  his  wife 
and  babes.  If  he  made  appearance  in  answer  to  such  summons, 
he  found  the  court  in  suspicious  accord  with  the  rapacious  govern- 
ors and  speculatorsi  in  treating  his  grant,  under  the  royal  seal  of 
New  Hampshire,  as  a  nullity.  Such  decision  of  one  case  was  a 
precedent  for  all  othei's,  numbering  thousands,  and  so  the  alter- 
native was  presented  to  every  grantee  and  settler  under  a  New 
Hampshire  charter,  to  give  up  his  lands  and  home,  or  buy  his  peace 
on  impossible  terms  of  an  unsympathizing  stranger  who  had 
schemed  to  despoil  him,  or  yet  forcibly  to  resist  such  monstrous 


Vermont  Day.  29 

injustice.     We  are  wont  to  applaud  the  forcible  resistance  made  to 
the  stamp  act,  and  the  destruction  of  the  tea  in  Boston  harbor,  as 
patriotic  exhibitions  of  rightful  resistance  to  authority  arbitrarily 
unjust.     What  shall  we  say,  then,  of  the  resistance  of  these  settlers 
of  "  the  Grants  "  to  that  scheme  of  plunder  which  would  take  from 
a  people  not  merely  a  petty  tax,  but  their  all,  the  fruits  of  a  life  of 
toil  and  hardship,  and  make  of  them  a  community  of  paupers,  to 
become  the  vassals  of  foreign  landlords,  or  to  beg  their  way  back 
to  their  old  homes.     Resistance  to  injustice  so  gross,  though  sought 
to  be  covered  by  the  hypocrisy  of  legal  forms,  and  none  the  less 
galling  on  this  account,  was  the  instinct  of  common  manliness, 
hardly  requu-ing  for  its  impulse  that  exaltation  of  soul  and  charac- 
ter which  we  call  heroism.     And  so  it  happened  that  when  sheriff 
Ten  Eyck,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  July,  1771,  with  his  posse  of 
some  three  hundred  armed  men,  including  many  of  the  gentry  of 
Albany,  proceeded  in  martial  array  to  Bennington  to  take  possession 
by  process  in  ejectment  of  the  farm  of  James  Breakenridge,  he  met 
there  on  the  borders  of  the  Walloomsac  a  gathering  of  the  settlers 
of  "  the  Grants  "  prepared  for  resistance.      Bennington  in  town 
meeting  had  voted  to  take  this  farm  under  thier  pi'otection — and  it 
was  protected.      The  sheriff  had  met  a  power  greater  than  the 
power  of  the  county,  who  solved  for  him  the  prophetic  riddle  of 
Ethan  Allen,  that  "  the  gods  of  the  valleys  are  not  the  gods  of  the 
hills," — and   "  if  they  would  come  to   Bennington  the    meaning 
should  be  made  clear."     And  so  the  power  of  the  county  evapo- 
rated, and  resistance  to  like  attempts  in  the  future  was  made  the 
easier,  and  their  success  impossible.     It  has  been  well  and  truly 
said  by  that  venerable  gentleman,  a  native  of  Bennington,  whose 
presence  graces  this  occasion,  and  who  in  his  long  and  useful  life  of 
public  service  has  done  his  age  no  better  service  than  by  his  publi- 
cation of  the  "  Early  History  of  Vermont,''  that  "  here  in  fact,  on 
the  farm  of   James  Breakenridge,  was  born  the  future  state  of 
Vermont,  which  struggling  through  the  perils  of  infancy,  had  by 
the  commencement  of  the  general  revolution  acquired  the  activity 
and  strength  of  adventurous  youth ;  had  by  its  close  reached  the 
full  stature  of  manhood,  and  which  not  long  afterwards  became  the 


30  Bennington  Centennial. 

acknowledged  equal  of  itB  associate  American  republics," — 
offspring,  it  may  be  added,  of  what  the  Tory  governors  of  New- 
York  were  wont  to  call  "  the  Bennington  mob." 

This  controversy  about  the  lands  of  the  settlers,  kept  up  in  one 
way  and  another  for  many  years,  naturally  led  to  a  denial  of  the 
civil  jurisdiction  of  New  York  lor  any  purpose.  Except  for  this 
policy  of  spoliation,  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York  would  have  been 
quietly  submitted  to,  notwithstanding  the  difference  of  blood  and 
tenlper,  training  and  customs  of  the  two  peoples,  and  Vermont 
would  have  had  no  name  in  history,  nor  existence  as  a  State. 

This  difference  was  considerably  marked.  The  settlers  of  the 
Grants  were  New  Englanders  of  the  then  New  England  type, 
cherishing  the  democratic  ideas,  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
resistance  to  aggressions  upon  the  liberties  of  individual  or  people, 
which  then  peculiarly  prevailed  in  New  England,  and  to  which  that 
people  had  been  peculiarly  schooled  and  trained  for  generations  by 
the  events  connected  with  the  early  immigrations,  and  the  institu- 
tions of  church  and  civil  government  established  by  them,  of  tiieir 
free  choice,  in  the  wilderness.  What  was  written  of  these  settlers 
by  an  accomplished  loyal  lady  of  the  times,  thougti  said ,  reproach- 
fully, we  accept  as  true,  forgiving  the  reproach : — They  were 
"  fierce  republicans,  refusing  to  become  tenants  to  any  one  and 
insisting  on  owning  the  lands  they  sheuld  occupy ;  whose  whole 
conversation  was  tainted  with  politics — Cromwellian  politics ;  who 
talked  about  slaves  to  arbitrary  power ;  and  whose  indifference  to 
the  mother  country,  and  illiberal  opinions  and  manners  were 
extremely  offensive  to  all  loyal  subjects  of  the  king."  Few  tories 
among  them  at  any  time,  and  those  few,  either  converted  to  better 
ways  by  the  rough  discipline  of  the  "  twigs  of  the  wilderness,"  or 
else  finding  more  congenial  homes  in  Canada,  It  was  not  so  along- 
the  Hudson,  nor  was  this  the  spirit  of  the  gentiy  of  the  New  York 
colony.  This  difference  is  conspicuously  indicated  in  the  reply  of 
Governor  Tryon  to  the  rebuke  of  the  Colonial  Secretary  for  the 
manner  in  which  the  New  York  grants  of  Vermont  lands  had  been 
made.  "  I  conceive  it,"  he  says,  "good  policy  to  lodge  large  tracts 
of  land  in  the  hands  of  gentlemen  of  weight  and  consideration. 


Vermont  Day.  31 

They  will  naturally  farm  out  their  lands  to  tenants ;  a  method 
which  will  ever  create  subordination,  and  counterpoise  in  some 
measure  the  general  leveling  spirit  that  so  much  prevails  in  some 
of  his  Majesty's  governments  ;" — an  aristocratic  policy,  hateful  to 
the  democratic  and  independent  spirit  of  the  settlers,  who  would 
be  vassals  to  no  patroon  or  land  baron,  but  would  own  the  lands 
they  tilled. 

And  so  was  kept  up  this  controversy  as  to  titles  and  jurisdiction, 
until  it  finally  closed  in  1791  by  a  compromise,  by  which  Vermont, 
to  secure  admission  to  the  Union,  paid  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  divided  among  the  New  York  claimants  by  way 
of  compensation  for  their  losses. 

In  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  there  was  no  people  more  patri- 
otic, none  more  united  in  sentiment  of  hostility  to  the  aggressions 
of  Great  Britain  and  determination  to  defend  the  common  liberties 
of  the  colonies,  and  to  achieve  separation  and  independence,  than 
the  people  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants ;  none  who,  according  to 
their  ability,  did  braver  and  more  effective  service  in  actual  war, 
than  they.  Scattered  along  the  war  path  from  Canada  to  New 
York,  they  were  ever  reliable  as  minute  men  to  beat  back  or  baffle 
invasion  from  that  quarter.  Ticonderoga,  the  Canadian  border, 
Bennington  and  Saratoga  tell  the  story  of  their  heroism.  They 
were  the  men  of  whom  Burgoyne,  in  mortification  at  his  disas- 
ter at  Bennington,  and  consequent  perplexity  of  his  affaire,  wrote 
to  the  British  minister  in  London:  "The  New  Hampshire  Grants, 
in  particular,  a  country  unpeopled  in  the  last  war,  now  abounds  in 
the  most  active  and  rebellious  race  of  the  continent,  and  hangs  like 
a  gathering  storm  on  my  left." 

Twenty  days  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at  l^hiladel- 
phia,  there  assembled  at  the  Inn  of  Cephas  Kent  in  Dorset,  dele- 
gates from  thirty-one  towns  of  "  the  Grants,"  who  entered  into 
solemn  covenant  between  themselves  by  formal  signatures,  recom- 
mending that  suph  declaration  be  subscribed  "by  all  the  friends  of 
America  in  the  district,"  wherein  they  declare  :  "  We  do  volunta, 
rily  and  solemnly  engage  under  all  the  ties  held  sacred  amongst 
Mankind,  at  the  risk  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,  to  defend  by  arms 


32  JBenriington  Centennial. 

the  United  American  States  against  the  hostile  attempts  of  the 
British  fleets  and  armies,  until  the  present  unhappy  controverey 
between  the  two  countries  shall  be  settled  ;"  and  at  a  later  conven- 
tion, held  by  adjournment  at  the  same  place  in  September,  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  "  to  take  suitable  measures,  as  soon  as  may 
be,  to  declare  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  a  separate  district."  This 
convention  was  adjourned  to  meet  at  Westminster,  October  30, 
1776,  and  was  again  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  same  place,  January 
15,  1777,  and  then  and  there  it  was  unanimously  proclaimed  and 
publicly  declared,  "that  the  district  of  territory  comprehending 
amd  usually  known  by  the  name  and  description  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  of  right  ought  to  be,  and  is  hereby  declared  forever 
hereafter  to  be  considered,  as  a  free  and  independent  jurisdiction  or 
state,  by  the  name  of  New  Connecticut." 

And  later,  at  Windsor,  on  the  second  day  of  July,  1777,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  freemen  of  said  district  assembled  in  convention 
and  fi'araed  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Vermont.  This  consti- 
tution opens  with  a  preamble  reciting  in  forcible  language  the  rea- 
sons for  the  formation  of  "  a  free  and  independent  state."  These 
recited  reasons  were,  the  right  of  the  people  by  common  con- 
sent to  change  their  government  whenever  it  fails  to  secure  the 
«nd8  of  government,  viz.  :  the  security  and  protection  of  the  com- 
munity, as  such,  and  the  natural  rights  of  the  individuals  who 
compose  it ;  the  oppressions  of  the  British  Government  towards 
the  colonies,  "  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  declaration  of  Congress  ;" 
and  the  worse  oppressions  of  New  York  towards  the  settlers  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants.  This  preamble  was  followed  by  "  a  dec- 
laration of  the  Rights  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  State  of  Vermont," 
and  a  plan  or  frame  of  government. 

It  was  while  the  draft  of  this  constitution  was  under  considera- 
tion, that  the  alarming  news  reached  the  convention  of  the  evacua- 
tion by  our  troops  of  Ticonderoga,  and  their  disastrous  retreat 
through  Hubbardton,  thus  leaving  all  our  western  border  open  to 
the  ravages  of  Burgoyne  with  his  Hessians  and  savages.  It  is 
reported,  that  the  first  impulse  of  the  convention  was  to  separate 
and  look  to  the  protection  of  their  families  a.t  home,  when  "  a  severe 


Vermont  Day.  33 

thunderstorm  came  on  and  gave  thera  time  to  reflect ;"  and  so  they 
stayed  till  their  work  was  finished.  The  thunderstoi'm  was  a 
blessed  providence  ;  a  voice  from  the  skies  proclaiming  to  the  con- 
vention a  duty  higher  even  than  the  personal  protection  of  family 
and  home.  And  so  Vermont  received  her  christening  and  became 
a  state,  though,  for  a  time  after,  under  the  anomalous  administration 
of  a  Council  of  Safety,  and,  until  March  4,  1791,  fourteen  years, 
existed  as  an  independent  sovereignty,  with  all  the  attributes  and 
functions  of  sovereignty,  when  she  was  admitted  as  an  equal  mem- 
ber of  the  Federal  Union.  In  the  meantime  the  American  Revela- 
tion had  been  closed  in  a  declared  peace.  The  confederation  of  the 
United  States  had  been  formed  and  dissolved,  and  the  United  States 
Constitution  had  made  of  the  United  States  a  government.  In  this 
construction  of  confederation  and  constitution  Vermont  had  not  been 
allowed  to  take  part,  but  during  all  these  fourteen  years  she  had 
stood  apart  among  her  mountains  in  stern  independency,  defending 
herself  against  states  contending  for  her  lands  and  life,  disowned 
by  Congress,  and  having  for  years  on  her  borders  the  common 
enemy  to  fight  with  the  weapons  and  the  finesse  of  war.  In  all 
this  she  did  her  work  bravely  and  well ;  and  we  do  well  to-day  by 
commemorating  these  labors  of  the  fathers  a  hundred  years  ago. 

This  constitution  of  1777  was  more  than  a  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence and  frame  of  government.  It  was  a  charter  of  human 
liberty  also.  Thus  the  "  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  State  of  Vermont,"  starts  off  with  the  broader  declara- 
tion, "  that  all  men  are  born  equally  free  and  independent,  and  have 
certain  natural,  inherent  and  inalienable  rights  ;  amongst  which  are 
the  enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty  ;  acquiring,  possessing 
and  protecting  property,  and  pursuing  and  obtaining  happiness  and 
safety."  ^^ Therefore" — it  is  to  this  the  logic  leads — "  no  male 
person,  born  in  this  country  or  brought  from  over  the  sea,  ought  to  be 
holden  by  the  law  to  serve  any  person  as  a  servant,  slave  or  appren- 
tice, after  he  arrives  to  the  ^age  of  twenty-one  years,  nor  female, 
in  like  manner,  after  she  arrives  to  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  unless 
they  are  bound  by  their  own  consent,  after  they  arrive  to  such  an 


34r  Bennington   Centennial. 

This  provision  of  the  constitution  received  judicial  interpreta- 
tion— clear  enough  without  it — by  the  Supreme  Court  in  1802,  that 
no  inhabitant  of  this  state  can  hold  a  slave,  and  that  by  becoming 
an  inhabitant  his  slave  brought  from  another  state  becomes  free^ 
{Windsor  v.  Jacob,  2  Tyler's  Reports,  192.)  The  bill  of  sale  in 
such  case  to  be  effective  must,  according  to  the  traditional  ruling 
of  Judge  Theophilus  Harrington,  be  under  the  hand  and  seal  of 
the  Almighty.  We  give  our  fathers  credit,  that  they  did  not  dis- 
tort the  logic  of  their  broad  declaration  of  human  rights,  or  attempt 
\o  accommodate  an  inflexible  truth  to  the  passion  of  power,  or  the 
lust  of  gain  ;  that  they  were  ready  to  award  to  all  men  what  they 
claimed  for  themselves,  and  stamped  the  soil  of  Vermont  %vith  the 
seal  of  freedom  for  all,  and  forever. 

Thus  reviewing  cursorily  the  early  history  of  this  state,  we  may 
safely  say,  that  none  has  a  history  more  romantic  in  its  incidents, 
or  more  illustrious  for  the  heroism  and  sagacity  of  its  chief  men  ;. 
nor  more  marked  for  the  sturdy  independence  and  honesty  of  its 
people,  for  their  energy,  persistence,  will  indomitable  to  defend 
their  rights,  and  readiness  to  accord  like  rights  to  others.  If  we 
of  to-day  have  become  spindling  and  weak,  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the 
fathere.  True,  we  have  not  had  their  personal  experience  and 
training  in  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  to  teach  that  practical 
sagacity  which  comes  of  necessity ;  nor  yet  that  schooling  of  a 
whole  people  in  civil  rights  and  law  and  statesmanship,  which  their 
long  controversy  with  New  York,  New  Hampshire,  Great  Britain 
and  Congress  gave  them,  during  the  years  of  that  great  awakening 
of  thought  which  preceded,  accompanied  and  followed  the  American 
revolution,  and  made  of  plain  men  shrewd  thinkers  and  wise  judges. 
But  they  have  left  us  their  thoughts,  their  spirit,  their  institutions, 
— town  organizations,  those  little  democracies  where  all  the  inhab- 
itants, assembled  in  common  meeting,  discuss  and  decide  all  mat- 
ters of  local  government,  distribute  the  offices  of  administration 
and  jury  service,  by  which,  and  the  official  service  imposed  upon 
those  esteemed  the  fittest,  the  people  are  put  to  school  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  government  and  kept  in  training  for  the  duties  of  civil 
life,  and  made  as  one  with  the  law  which  they  make  and  administer. 


Yermont  Day.  36 

They  have  left  us,  too,  the  school  house  and  the  meeting  house, 
and  foundations  for  religious  teaching,  for  the  Grammar  School  and 
the  University,  as  well  as  cleared  fields,  roads,  bridges  and  mills, — 
and  we  have  entered  into  their  labors. 

It  is  a  question  which  presses  upon  us,  whether  the  state  in  its 
subsequent  development  has  proved  itself  worthy  its  origin,  and 
whether  we  of  to-day  deserve  such  ancestry ;  how  far  the  spirit  and 
the  times  of  a  hundred  years  ago  have  impressed  themselves  upon 
the  century,  and  made  its  history  what  it  has  been,  and  the  people 
what  they  are.  In  the  way  of  partial  answer  to  such  questionings, 
it  may  be  truthfully  said,  that  the  age  has  not  passed  beyond  the 
impulse  which  first  set  in  motion  the  state  and  its  institutions  ;  that 
the  temper  and  spirit  of  the  fathers  are  yet  traceable  in  the  moral 
lineaments  of  their  postei'ity  ;  that  the  principles  upon  which  they 
founded  the  state  lie  under  it  to-day,  undisturbed  in  place  upon  the 
bed-rock  of  truth,  untouched  by  decay. 

Thus,  upon  all  questions  of  human  liberty,  especially  in  the  fierce 
conflicts  which  have  since  been  waged  between  the  absolute  right 
and  the  expedient  wrong,  between  the  doctrine  of  human  equality 
and  the  wild  fantasy  of  property  in  man,  Vermont  has  ever  been 
true  to  her  early  declaration,  and  fixed  as  her  mountains  ; — exhib- 
iting even  an  aggressive  zeal  for  liberty  and  holy  anger  against 
slavery,  contemptuous  of  all  excuse  or  apology  for  such  invasion  of 
human  rights.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  teachings  of  the  early 
abolitionists  seemed  to  our  people  no  new  doctrine,  but  the  awak- 
ened echo  of  the  voices  of  the  fathers  who  had  passed  into  silence, 
and  their  appeals  fell  upon  willing  ears  and  sank  into  sympathizing 
hearts.  It  was  this  kinship  to  the  spirit  of  the  fathers,  which 
impelled  our  people  to  the  verge  of  the  compromises  of  the  national 
constitution,  or  beyond  it,  in  their  legislation  upon  the  subject  of 
fugitive  slaves  ;  and  made  hostility  to  slavery  the  dominant  question 
of  politics,  making  and  unmaking  parties,  and  moulding  the  policy, 
or  dictating  the  utterances  of  all  parties.  This  spirit  mingled 
largely  with  the  spirit  of  nationality  which  inspired  our  people  to 
the  heroic  devotion  displayed  in  the  late  civil  war,  and  made  it,  in 


36  JSennington  Centennial. 

their  esteem,  a  war  twice  holy,  since  in  its  issue  was  bound  up  as 
well  the  liberty  of  the  slave,  as  the  nation's  life. 

So  if  we  consider  the  part  taken  by  Vei-monters  in  the  wars 
which  have  arisen  since  the  Revolution,  it  may  be  claimed  of  them 
that  they  have  not  disgraced  the  memories  of  the  men  who  took 
Ticonderoga  and  conquered  at  Bennington.  Thus  Lake  Champlain 
and  Plattsburgh  cheered  the  rush  of  the  Vermont  farmers,  to  i*epel 
the  British  invasion  of  1814.  So  in  1861,  the  gun  jSred  on  Sum- 
ter was  heard  in  every  hamlet  in  Vermont.  The  spirits  of  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  of  "  the  Grants,"  slumbering  in  the  caves  of 
their  mountains,  seemed  to  arouse  to  a  quickened  life,  and  Allen, 
Warner  and  their  compeers  once  more  to  walk  the  earth.  Every 
heart  was  stirred  with  a  divine  anger,  and  from  every  valley,  hill- 
side and  mountain  top  echoed  back  the  responsive  cry,  "  since  you 
will  have  it  so,  so  be  it — and  God  defend  the  right."  And  so  Ver- 
mont sent  forth  to  the  fi*ay  some  thirty-four  thousand  of  her  sons, 
with  her  gift  of  blessing  and  armor  of  the  spirit  of  the  fathers,  and 
they  so  fought  as  to  make  the  name  of  Vermont  and  the  Vermont 
Brigade  a  historic  glory,  and  so  died,  to  the  number  of  five  thou- 
sand in  the  shock  of  battle,  as  only  heroes  know  how  to  die.  And 
so  the  nation  was  saved  by  the  sacrificial  blood  of  her  sons, — the 
issues  of  the  fratricidal  strife  happily  solving,  as  we  trust,  the  riddle 
of  Samson,  "  Out  of  the  eater  came  forth  meat  and  out  of  the 
strong  came  forth  sweetness  ;"  the  riddle  of  all  time — good  out  of 
evil, — the  wrath  of  man  praising  God.  Thus  far,  in  spirit  of  free- 
dom and  self-sacrifice,  in  patriotic  devotion  and  heroic  courage,  I 
note  no  degeneracy.  We  are  to  bear  in  mind,  that  it  is  the  times 
and  their  necessities  that  search  out  the  before  undiscovered  man 
for  the  times,  that  the  opportunity  creates  the  man  for  the  oppor- 
tunity ;  and  the  great  occasion  makes  the  man  great  for  the  occa- 
sion, who,  without  such  stress,  would  have  seemed  but  common 
clay,  and  have  died  without  giving  sign  of  the  greatness  that  was 
potential  in  him.  So  it  is,  that  in  the  dull  times  of  peace  and  the 
humdrum  quiet  of  easy  life,  the  shades  of  the  great  men  of  a 
heroic  past  loom  high,  and  are  enlarged  to  our  vision  by  the  misty 
distance  that  lies  between.     This  is  well,  since  it  keeps  alive  rever- 


Vermont  Day,  37 

ence  and  aspiration,  and  kindles  a  divine  emulation  to  be  like  them. 
But  as  there  were  brave  men  before  Agamemnon,  so,  as  I  think, 
Vermont  has  had  heroes  since  Ethan  Allen  and  Seth  Warner ;  wise 
governors  since  Thomas  Chittenden ;  accomplished  diplomatists 
since  Ira  Allen ;  able  statesmen,  legislators  and  jurists  since 
Nathaniel  Chipman,  if  not  as  great  as  he. 

Those  improved  means  of  intercourse  among  men  and  readier 
intercommunication  of  thought  and  knowledge,  the  result  of  novel 
inventions  and  new  applications  of  science  which  have  marked  the 
present  century  and  affected  the  civilization  of  the  world,  have  not 
passed  Vermont  by,  and  her  people  have  thereby  become  less  pro- 
vincial, more  cosmopolitan,  less  a  peculiar  people  than  our  fathers 
were.  And  yet,  being  largely  an  agricultural  people,  with  no  very 
large  towns  or  cities,  with  tew  millionaires  and  few  very  poor,  and 
little  chance  to  become  rich  by  speculations,  we  have  not  been 
tempted  to  stray  very  far  from  our  fathers'  ways  of  industry,  econ- 
omy, simplicity  of  living  and  providence  for  the  future.  And, 
since  we  are  gathei'ed  here  about  the  old  hearth-stone,  we  may  be 
allowed,  in  the  freedom  and  confidence  of  the  family  circle,  to 
felicitate  ourselves  as  Vermonters,  not  only  for  what  our  fathers 
were,  for  their  heroic  lives  and  historic  deeds  and  the  institutions 
they  created  and  transmitted  to  us,  but  that  their  posterity  have  so 
faithfully  guarded,  preserved  and  wisely  improved  them,  and  have 
80  well  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  those  institutions  and  the  temper  of 
that  heroic  age  ; — that  education  is  free,  and  that  we  have  freedom 
in  religion,  both  moving  in  wider  and  deeper  channels  than  afore" 
time  of  culture  and  christian  charity ; — that  a  greater  softness  of 
manners  has  not  made  us  effeminate  ; — that  we  are  in  good  degree 
a  temperate,  sober,  self-restrained  people,  standing  by  good  oi'der 
and  obedience  to  law,  consei'vative  and  yet  progressing,  having  a 
steadfastness  that  may  be  counted  on,  and  a  will  of  our  own  ;  not 
having  parted  with  practical  wisdom  and  common  sense,  nor  yet 
far  departed  from  the  religion  of  paying  our  debts. 

From  this  little  hive  and  nursery  of  men,  how  many  have  gone 
forth  to  the  broader  and  more  inviting  fields  of  the  expanding  West, 
to  the  great  marts  of  commerce,  and  wherever  the  spirit  of  adventure 


38  Bennington  Centennial. 

has  impelled,  or  of  gain  or  ambition  lured,  cariying  with  them  the 
temper  and  training  of  their  birthplace,  and  planting  in  other  fields 
the  seed  germs  they  gathered  in  boyhood  upon  these  mountain 
sides.  And  as  we  have  seen  the  emblematic  pine  tree  of  our  state 
come  of  such  planting,  towering  ofttimes  above  the  indigenous 
trees  of  the  land,  with  branches  wide  spreading  and  I'oyal  crown  of 
leaves,  singing  to  the  winds  the  music  of  its  ancestral  home,  how 
proudly  have  we  cheered  such  vision,  crying,  Grace,  grace  unto  it. 
This  seed  of  Vermont  sowing,  wherever  cast,  has  bourgeoned  into 
harvests  to  the  enrichment  of  many  states,  and  credit  to  seed  and 
sower ; — and  we  rejoice  to-day  to  welcome  the  return  of  so  many 
of  the  sons  of  Vermont,  bringing  to  our  festival  golden  sheaves 
of  their  culture  and  harvest. 

One  hundred  years  hence,  when  Vermont  shall  celebrate  the 
second  centennial  year  of  her  life  as  a  state,  when  we  who  to-day 
commemorate  the  virtues  of  our  historic  fathers  shall  have  long 
passed  into  silence,  and  shall  then,  perchance,  by  search  of  genea- 
logical records  be  discovered  as  the  fathers  of  that  age, — alas,  how 
few  of  us  will  have  attained  other  historic  immortality, — when 
search  among  the  musty  papers  of  the  then  Vermont  Historical 
Society,  to  find  record  of  the  doings  of  this  first  centennial  year, 
shall  withdraw,  for  a  little,  from  oblivion  these  poor  words  which 
now  stir  the  air,  may  they,  who  shall  then  gather  to  look  upon  the 
monuments  which  we  now  rear  as  memorials  of  a  heroic  age,  as 
they  look  back  over  the  field  of  Vermont  history  for  two  hundred 
years,  and  compare  that  past  with  the  then  present,  find  a  state  and 
people  softened  by  culture,  yet  true  to  the  spirit  of  the  primeval 
state  and  of  those  who  founded  it,  —a  people  free,  independent, 
intelligent,  industrious,  sober,  honest,  conservative  of  the  good, 
aggi'essive  towards  the  wrong,  virtuous,  religious, — a  happy  people 
whose  God  is  the  Lord. 


i 


.^lA' 


^•^        ^      .^. 


Vermont  Day.  3ft 


MRS.  DORR'S  POEM. 

Professor  J.  W.  Churchill  of  Andover,  then  read  the  poem 
by  Mrs.  Julia  C.  B.  Dorr  of  Rutland,  entitled,  "  Ybrmont," 
as  follows : 


/ 


VERMONT. 


0  "WOMAK-FORM,  majestic,  strong  and  fair, 
Sitting  enthroned  where  in  upper  air 

Thy  mountain-pealis  in  solemn  grandeur  rise. 
Piercing  the  splendor  of  the  summer  skies, — 
Vermont !    Our  mighty  mother,  crowned  to-day 
In  all  the  glory  of  thy  hundred  years, 
If  thou  dost  bid  me  sing,  how  can  I  but  obey  ? 
What  though  the  lips  may  tremble,  and  the  verse 
That  fain  would  grandly  thy  grand  deeds  rehearse 
May  trip  and  falter,  and  the  stammering  tongue 
Leave  all  unrhymed  the  rhymes  that  should  be  sung  ? 

1  can  but  do  thy  bidding,  as  is  meet. 
Bowing  in  humble  homage  at  thy  feet — 
Thy  royal  feet — and  If  my  words  are  weak, 

O  crowned  One,  'twas  thou  didst  bid  me  speak  ! 

n. 

Yet  what  is  tliere  to  say, 
Even  on  this  proud  day, 
This  day  of  days,  that  hath  not  oft  been  said  ? 
What  song  is  there  to  sing 

That  hath  not  oft  been  sung  ? 
What  laurel  can  we  bring. 

That  Ages  have  not  hung 
A  thousand  times  above  their  glorious  dead  ? 
What  crown  to  crown  the  living 
Is  left  us  for  our  giving. 
That  is  not  shaped  to  other  brows 

That  wore  it  long  ago  ? 
Our  very  vows  but  echo  vows 

Breathed  centuries  ago ! 


AO  Bennington  Centennial. 

Earth  has  no  choral  strain, 
No  sweet  or  sad  refrain, 
No  lofty  psean  swelling  loud  and  clear, 
That  Virgil  did  not  know, 
Or  Dante,  wandering  slow 
In  mystic  trances,  did  not  pause  to  hear  ! 
When  gods  from  high  Olympus  came 
To  touch  old  Homer's  lips  with  flame. 
The  morning  stars  together  sung 
To  teach  their  raptures  to  his  tongue. 
For  him  the  lonely  ocean  moaned  ; 
For  him  the  mighty  winds  intoned 
Their  deep-voiced  chantings,  and  for  him 
Sweet  flower-bells  pealed  in  forests  dim. 
From  earth  and  sea  and  sky  he  caught 
The  spell  of  their  divinest  thought. 
While  yet  it  blossomed  fresh  and  new 
As  Eden's  rosebuds  wet  with  dew ! 
Oh  !  to  have  lived  when  earth  was  young, 
With  all  its  melodies  unsung  ! 
The  dome  of  Heaven  bent  nearer  then 
When  gods  and  angels  talked  with  men, — 
When  Song  itself  was  newly  born. 
The  Incarnation  of  the  Morn  ! 
But  now,  alas  !  all  thought  is  old, 
All  life  is  but  a  story  told. 
And  poet-tongues  are  manifold ; 
And  he  is  bold  who  tries  to  wake 
Even  for  God,  or  Country's  sake, 
In  voice,  or  pen,  or  lute,  or  lyre. 
Sparks  of  the  old  Promethean  fire ! 


And  yet, — O  Earth,  thank  God  !— the  soul  of  song 
Is  as  immortal  as  the  eternal  stars  ! 

O,  trembling  heart !  take  courage  and  be  strong. 
Hark !  to  a  voice  from  yonder  crystal  bars : — 

'*  Did  the  roses  blow  last  June  ? 

Do  the  stars  still  rise  and  set  ? 
And  over  the  crests  of  the  mountains 

Are  the  light  clouds  floating  yet  ? 


Vertnont  Day.  41 


Do  the  rivers  run  to  the  sea 

With  a  deep,  resistless  flow  ? 
Do  the  little  birds  sing  north  and  south 

As  the  seasons  come  and  go  ? 

"  Are  the  hills  as  fair  as  of  old  ? 

Are  the  skies  as  blue  and  far  ? 
Have  you  lost  the  pomp  of  the  sunset, 

Or  the  light  of  the  evening  star  ? 
Has  the  glory  gone  from  the  morning  ? 

Do  the  wild  winds  wail  no  more  ? 
Is  there  now  no  thunder  of  billows 

Beating  the  storm-lashed  shore  ? 

"  Is  Love  a  forgotten  story  ? 

Is  Passion  a  jester's  theme  ? 
Has  Valor  thrown  down  its  armor  ? 

Is  Honor  an  idle  dream  ? 
Is  there  no  pure  trust  in  woman  ? 

No  conquering  faith  in  God  ? 
Are  there  no  feet  strong  to  follow 

In  the  paths  the  martyrs  trod  ? 

"  Did  you  find  no  hero  graves 

When  your  violets  bloomed  last  May — 
Prouder  than  those  of  Marathon, 

Or  '  old  Platea's  day  '  ? 
When  your  red  and  whitejand  blue 

On  the  free  winds  fluttered  out, 
Were  there  no  strong  hearts  and  voices 

To  receive  it  with  a  shout  ? 

Oh !  let  the  Earth  grow  old  ! 

And  the  burning  stars  grow  cold  ! 
And,  if  you  will,  declare  man's  story  told  ! 

Yet,  pure  as  faith  is  pure. 

And  sure  as  death  is  sure. 
As  long  as  love  shall  live,  shall  song  endure !  " 


When  one  by  one  the  stately,  silent  Years 
Glide  like  pale  ghosts  beyond  our  yearning  sight 
Vainly  we  stretch  our  arms  to  stay  their  flight. 
So  soon,  so  swift,  they  pass  to  endless  night ! 
We  hardly  learn  to  name  them. 


42  JBennington  Centennial. 

To  praise  them,  or  to  blame  them, 
To  know  their  shadowy  faces, 
Ere  we  see  their  empty  places  ! 
Only  once  the  glad  Spring  greets  them  ; 
Only  once  fair  Summer  meets  them ; 
Only  once  the  xiutumn  glory 
Tells  for  them  its  mystic  story ; 
Only  once  the  Winter  hoary 
Weaves  for  them  its  robes  of  light ! 
Years  leave  their  work  half-done ;  like  men,  alas ! 
With  sheaves  ungathered  to  their  graves  they  pass, 
And  are  forgotten.    What  they  strive  to  do 
Lives  for  a  while  in  memory  of  a  few ; 
Then  over  all  Oblivion's  waters  flow — 
The  Years  are  buried  in  the  Long  Ago ! 
But  when  a  Century  dies,  what  room  is  there  for  tears  ? 
Rather  in  solemn  exaltation  let  us  come, 
With  roll  of  drum, 
(Not  muffled  as  in  woe,) 
With  blare  of  bugles,  and  the  liquid  flow 
Of  silver  clarions,  and  the  long  appeal 
Of  the  clear  trumpets  ringing  peal  on  peal, 
With  clash  of  bells,  and  hosts  in  proud  array 
To  pay  meet  homage  to  its  burial  day ! 
For  its  proud  work  is  done.    Its  name  is  writ 
Where  all  the  ages  that  come  after  it 
Shall  read  the  eternal  letters  blazoned  high 
On  the  blue  dome  of  the  irapai-tial  sky. 
What  ruthless  fate  can  darken  its  renown, 
Or  dim  the  lustre  of  its  starry  crown  ? 
On  mountain-peaks  of  Time  each  Century  stands  alone ; 
And  each,  for  glory  or  for  shame,  hath  reaped  what  it  hath  sowa. 


Bat  this — the  one  that  gave  thee  birth 
A  hundred  years  ago,  O  beauteous  mother ! 
This  mighty  century  had  a  mightier  brother, 

Who  from  the  watching  earth 
Passed  but  last  year !    Twin-born  indeed  were  they,- 
For  what  are  twelve  months  to  the  womb  of  time 
Pregnant  with  ages  ?  — Hand  in  hand  they  climbed 
With  clear,  young  eyes  uplifted  to  the  stars, 


Vermont  Day.  45 

With  great,  strong  souls  that  never  stopped  for  bars. 
Through  storm  and  darkness  up  to  glorious  day ! 
Each  knew  the  other's  need  ;  each  in  his  breast 
The  subtle  tie  of  closest  kin  confessed ; 
Counted  the  other's  honor  as  his  own ; 
Nor  feared  to  sit  upon  a  separate  throne ; 
Nor  loved  each  other  less  when — wondrous  fate ! — 
One  gave  a  Nation  life,  and  one  a  State  ! 


Oh !  rude  the  cradle  in  which  each  was  rocked, 

The  infant  Nation,  and  the  infant  State  ! 

Rough  nurses  were  the  Centuries,  that  mocked 

At  mother-kisses,  and  for  mother-arms 

Gave  their  young  nurslings  sudden  harsh  alarms, 

Quick  blows  and  stern  rebuffs.    They  bade  them  wait, 

Often  in  cold  and  hunger,  while  the  feast 

Was  spread  for  others,  and,  though  last  not  least. 

Gave  them  sharp  swords  for  playthings,  and  the  din 

Of  actual  battle  for  the  mimic  ttrife 

That  childhood  glories  in  ! 
Yet  not  the  less  they  loved  them.    Spartans  they. 
Who  could  not  rear  a  weak,  effeminate  brood. 
Better  the  forest's  awful  solitude, 
Better  the  desert  spaces,  where  the  day 
Wanders  from  dawn  to  dusk  and  finds  no  life  ! 


But  over  all  the  tireless  years  swept  on, 

Till  side  by  side  the  Centuries  grew  old, 
And  the  young  Nation,  great  and  strong  and  bold. 
Forgot  its  early  struggles,  in  triumphs  later  won  ! 
It  stretched  its  arms  from  East  to  West ; 
It  gathered  to  its  mighty  breast 
From  every  clime,  from  every  soil. 
The  hunted  sons  of  want  and  toil  ; 
It  gave  to  each  a  dwelling-place ; 
It  blent  them  in  one  common  race  ; 
And  over  all,  from  sea  to  sea, 
Wide  flew  the  banner  of  the  free  ! 
It  did  not  fear  the  wrath  of  kings, 


44  JSennington  Centennial. 

Nor  the  dread  grip  of  deadlier  things — 
Gaunt  Famine  with  its  ghastly  horde. 
Dishonor  sheathing  its  foul  sword. 
Nor  faithless  friend,  nor  treacherous  blow 
Struck  in  the  dark  by  stealthy  foe ; 
For  over  all  its  wide  domain, 
From  shore  to  shore,  from  main  to  main, 
From  vale  to  mountain-top,  it  saw 
The  reign  of  plenty,  peace,  and  law  ! 


Thus  fared  the  Nation,  prosperous,  great,  and  free, 
I*rophet  and  herald  of  the  good  to  be  ; 
And  on  its  humbler  way,  in  calm  content. 
The  lesser  State,  the  while,  serenely  went. 
Safe  in  her  mountain  fastnesses  she  dwelt. 
Her  life's  first  cares  forgot,  its  woes  unfelt, 
And  thought  her  bitterest  tears  had  all  been  shed, 
For  peace  was  in  her  borders,  and  God  reigned  overhead. 


But  suddenly  over  the  hills  there  came 

A  cry  that  rent  her  with  grief  and  shame — 

A  cry  from  the  Nation  in  sore  distress, 

Stricken  down  in  the  pride  of  its  mightiness  ! 

With  passionate  ardor  up  she  sprang. 

And  her  voice  like  the  peal  of  a  trumpet  rang, — 

"  What  ho  !  what  ho !  brave  sons  of  mine, 

Strong  with  the  strength  of  the  mountain  pine  1 

To  the  front  of  the  battle,  away  !  away  ! 

The  Nation  is  bleeding  in  deadly  fray, 

The  Nation,  it  may  be,  is  dying  to-day  ! 

On,  then,  to  the  rescue !  away  !  away  !  " 


Ah !  how  they  answered  let  the  ages  tell. 

For  they  shall  guard  the  sacred  story  well ! 

Green  grows  the  grass,  to-day,  on  many  a  battle  field  ; 

War's  dread  alarms  are  o'er  ;  its  scars  are  healed ; 

Its  bitter  agony  has  found  surcease ; 

A  re-united  land  clasps  hands  in  peace. 

But,  oh  !  ye  blessed  dead,  whose  graves  are  strown 


Vermont  Day.  45 

From  where  our  forests  make  perpetual  moan, 
To  those  far  shores  where  smiling  Southern  seas 
Give  back  soft  murmurs  to  the  fragrant  breeze, — 
Oh !  ye  who  drained  for  us  the  bitter  cup, 

Think  ye  we  can  forget  what  ye  have  offered  up  ? 

The  years  will  come  and  go,  and  other  centuries  die. 

And  generation  after  generation  lie 

Down  in  the  dust ;  but  long  as  stars  shall  shine, 
Long  as  Vermont's  green  hills  shall  bear  the  pine, 
As  long  as  Killington  shall  proudly  lift 
Its  lofty  peak  above  the  storm-cloud's  rift. 
Or  Mansfield  hail  the  blue,  o'erarching  skies. 
Or  fair  Mount  Anthony  in  grandeur  rise. 
So  long  shall  live  the  deeds  that  ye  have  done, 
So  deathless  be  the  glory  ye  have  won  ! 


Not  with  exultant  joy 
And  pride  without  alloy, 
Did  the  twin  Centuries  rejoice  when  all  was  o'er. 
What  though  the  Nation  rose 
Triumphant  o'er  its  foes  ? 
What  though  the  State  had  gained 
The  meed  of  faith  unstained  ? 
Their  mighty  hearts  remembered  the  dead  that  came  no  more 
Remembered  all  the  losses. 
The  weary,  weary  crosses. 
Remembered  earth  was  poorer  for  the  blood  that  had  been  shed 
And  knew  that  it  was  sadder  for  the  story  it  had  read  1 
So  clasping  hands  with  somewhat  saddened  mien, 
And  eyes  uplifted  to  the  Great  Unseen 
That  rules  alike  o'er  Centuries  and  men. 
Onward  they  walked  serenely  towards — the  End ! 


One  reached  it  last  year.     Ye  remember  well 
The  wondrous  tale  there  is  no  need  to  tell — 
How  the  whole  world  bowed  down  beside  its  bier 
How  all  the  Nations  came,  from  far  or  near, 
Heaping  their  treasures  on  its  mighty  pall — 
Never  had  kingliest  king  such  funeral  I 


46  Bennington  Centennial. 

Old  Asia  rose,  and  girding  her  in  haste, 
Swept  in  her  jewelled  robes  across  the  waste. 
And  called  to  Egypt  lying  prone  and  hid 
Where  waits  the  Sphinx  beside  the  pyramid ; 
Fair  Europe  came  with  overflowing  hands, 
Bearing  the  riches  of  her  many  lands  ; 
Dark  Afric,  laden  with  her  virgin  gold. 
Yet  laden  deeper  with  her  woes  untold  ; 
Japan  and  China  in  grotesque  array. 
And  all  the  enchanted  islands  of  Cathay ! 


Tc  day  the  other  dies. 

It  walked  in  humbler  guise, 
Nor  stood  where  all  men's  eyes 

Were  fixed  upon  it. 
Earth  may  not  pause  to  lay 

A  wreath  upon  its  bier. 
Nor  the  world  heed  to-day 

Our  dead  that  lieth  here ! 
Yet  well  they  loved  each  other — 
It  and  its  greater  brother. 
To  loftiest  stature  grown, 
Each  earned  its  own  renown  ; 
Each  sought  of  Time  a  crown, 

And  each  has  won  it ! 


But  what  to  us  are  Centuries  dead, 
And  rolling  Years  forever  fled, 
Compared  with  thee,  O  grand  and  fair 
Vermont — our  Goddess-mother  ? 
Strong  with  the  strength  of  thy  verdant  hills. 
Fresh  with  the  freshness  of  mountain-rills. 
Pure  as  the  breath  of  the  fragrant  pine, 
Glad  with  the  gladness  of  youth  divine. 
Serenely  thou  sittest  throned  to-day 
Where  the  free  winds  that  round  thee  play 
Rejoice  in  thy  waves  of  sun-bright  hair, 
O  thou,  our  glorious  mother ! 


Vermont  Day.  47 

Rejoice  in  thy  beautiful  strength  and  say 

Earth  holds  not  such  another ! 
Thou  art  not  old  with  thy  hundred  years, 
Nor  worn  with  toil,  or  care,  or  tears  ; 
But  all  the  glow  of  the  summer-time 
Is  thine  to-day  in  thy  glorious  prime ! 
Thy  brow  is  fair  as  the  winter-snows. 
With  a  stately  calm  in  its  still  repose ; 
While  the  breath  of  the  rose  the  wild  bee  sips 
Half-mad  with  joy,  cannot  eclipse 
The  marvellous  sweetness  of  thy  lips  ; 
And  the  deepest  blue  of  the  laughing  skies 
Hides  in  the  depths  of  thy  fearless  eyes, 
Gazing  afar  over  land  and  sea 
Wherever  thy  wandering  children  be  ! 

Fold  on  fold. 
Over  thy  form  of  grandest  mould, 
Floweth  thy  robe  of  forest  green. 
Now  light,  now  dark,  in  its  emerald  sheen. 
Its  broidered  hem  is  of  wild  flowers  rare, 
With  feathery  fern-fronds  light  as  air 
Fringing  its  borders.     In  thy  hair 
Sprays  of  the  pink  arbutus  twine, 
And  the  curling  rings  of  the  wild  grape  vine. 
Thy  girdle  is  woven  of  silver  streams ; 
Its  clasp  with  the  opaline  lustre  gleams 
Of  a  lake  asleep  in  the  sunset  beams  ; 

And,  half  concealing 

And  half  revealing, 
Floats  over  all  a  veil  of  mist 
Pale  tinted  with  rose  and  amethyst ! 


Rise  up,  O  noble  mother  of  great  sons, 
Worthy  to  rank  among  earth's  mightiest  ones, 
And  daughters  fair  and  beautiful  and  good, 
Yet  wise  and  strong  in  loftiest  womanhood, — 
Rise  from  thy  throne,  and  standing  far  and  high 
Outlined  against  the  blue,  adoring  sky. 
Lift  up  thy  voice,  and  stretch  thy  loving  hands 
In  benediction  o'er  these  waiting  lands  ! 


48  Bennington  Centennial. 

Take  thou  our  fealty !  at  thy  feet  we  bew, 

Glad  to  renew  each  oft-repeated  vow  ! 

No  costly  gifts  we  bring  to  thee  to-day ; 

No  votive  wreaths  upon  thy  shrine  we  lay  ; 

Take  thou  our  hearts,  then  ! — hearts  that  fain  would  be 

From  this  day  forth,  O  goddess,  worthier  thee ! 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  poem,  the  president  of  the  day 
introduced  ex-Governor  Joseph  R.  Hawley  as  the  representa- 
tive of  Connecticut,  who  spoke  substantially  as  follows  : 

GENERAL  HAWLEY'S  ADDRESS. 

Mr.  J*resident,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen : 

I  am  more  afraid  than  I  thought  I  should  be.  I  found  myself 
among  the  '"■  and  others  "  for  brief  remarks  to-day,  and  here  I  am 
called  on  to  speak  in  the  presence  of  the  still  thrilling  and  glorious 
words  of  the  poem  and  oration.  With  all  his  heart  he  would  say  a 
good  word  about  Vermont.  He  felt  proud  that  Vermont  was  the 
child  of  Connecticut.  He  said  that  he  did  not  in  any  respect  feel 
he  was  a  stranger,  and  referred  to  Rev.  Mr.  Jennings  and  others 
present  whom  he  i-ecognized  as  from  Connecticut.  He  congratu- 
lated those  present,  and  joined  them  in  thanking  G-od  for  a  hundred 
years  of  Vermont  history.  He  spoke  glowingly  of  the  exploit  of 
the  eighty-three  men  in  capturing  Ticonderoga,  fifty  prisoners  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  cannon — the  first  time  the  British  flag  struck 
to  the  young  republic.  The  speaker  read  numerous  extracts  from 
documents  pertaining  to  the  actions  of  old-time  patriots,  and  the 
judgment  of  the  English  government  in  regard  to  them.  He 
thought  that  Connecticut  men  must  have  had  a  good  share  in  the 
organization  of  Vermont  government ;  fifty-five  towns  in  the  state 
are  namesakes  of  Connecticut  towns,  and  he  found  a  similarity 
between  certain  parts  of  the  statute  books  of  the  two  states.  Per- 
haps Vermonters  had  proposed  to  save  trouble  by  conveying  some 
of  the  Connecticut  laws.  All  wished  for  Vermont  another  hundred 
years  of  true  and  solid  prosperity.  Gen.  Hawley  kept  the  large 
audience  in  the  best  of  spirits,  interspersing  frequent  sallies  of  wit, 


Vermont  Day.  49 

of    which   the   audience   showed    their    appreciation    by    hearty 
applause. 

ADDRESS  OF  EX-GOVERNOR  HARRIMAN  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

As  the  representative  of  New  Hampshire,  ex-Governor  Wal- 
ter Harriman  said  : 

Mr.  I^resident  and  Fellow  Citizens  : 

I  thank  you  for  this  cordial  greeting.  I  thank  you  for  the  honor 
of  being  called  to  speak  for  New  Hampshire.  I  stand  on  ground 
made  sacred  by  the  great  conflict  of  a  hundi'ed  years  ago,  a  con- 
flict in  which  New  Hampshire,  with  her  foremost  chieftain,  held 
the  commanding  post.  I  stand  on  ground  dear  to  every  New 
Hampshire  man  for  the  further  reason  that  that  state  claimed,  not 
only  the  territory  of  Bennington,  but  the  whole  of  Vermont,  as 
her  own,  previous  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  This  old,  historic 
town,  was  named  in  honor  of  Benning  Wentworth,  royal  governor 
of  New  Hampshire,  who  granted  it  to  proprietors,  with  a  hundred 
and  thirty  others,  during  his  reign  ;  and  in  this  very  vicinage  Col. 
Seth  Warner  and  his  sturdy  men  fought  gallantly  to  defend  these 
grants  against  the  adverse  claim  of  New  York.  But  the  struggles 
of  the  infant  colonies  for  mdependence  came  on,  and  the  beauti^l 
state  of  the  Green  Mountains  was  born  of  the  Revolution. 

New  Hampshire,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  here 
to-day,  was  one  of  the  original  thirteen  states.  Previous  to  the 
Revolution,  New  Hampshire  hills  had  glowed  with  beacon  fires, 
New  Hampshire  valleys  had  echoed  the  songs  of  liberty.  Can  any 
forget  the  names  of  Stark,  and  Langdon,  and  Sullivan,  and  Mo 
Clary  and  their  associates?  Can  any  forget  that  when  Bunker  Hill 
was  baptized  in  blood,  New  Hampshire  furnished  more  than  a 
thousand  men,  and  more  than  two-thirds  the  whole  number  engaged 
in  that  battle?  Can  any  forget  that  on  the  16th  day  of  August, 
1777,  New  Hampshire  was  at  Bennington?  Can  any  forget  that 
when  the  navy  of  the  Revolution  consisted  of  but  seven  ships.  New 
Hampshire  furnished  one?  that  when  her  proportionate  share  of  the 
4 


50  Jiennington  Centennial. 

burdeus  ot  the  war  was  but  one-fortynseventh,  she  assumed  one- 
thirty-eighth  ?  Can  any  forget  that  she  was  the  first  of  the  thir- 
teen colonies  to  establish  a  constitutional  state  government  inde- 
pendent of  the  crown  ? 

Daniel  Webster  never  said,  "  New  Hampshire  is  a  good  state  to 
emigrate  from.''  It's  a  libel  on  his  fair  fame.  Webster  revered 
the  mountains,  the  men,  the  institutions  and  the  history  of  his- 
native  state  till  the  day  he  died !  And  no  New  Hampshire  man 
need  have  his  cheek  mantle  with  shame  as  he  ponders  the 
history  of  that  state.  On  the  contrary,  we  may  exult  to  recall  such 
illustrious  proofs  of  the  ardent  patriotism  ot  our  ancestors.  W*? 
may  do  this,  as  we  review  other  facts — not  simply  to  appease  curi- 
osity or  to  flatter  our  piide,  but  that  we  may  open  up  soui'ces  of 
perennial  inspiration  which  shall  invigorate  our  own  lives  and  edu- 
cate the  lives  of  our  children. 

But,  sir,  permit  me  for  a  moment  to  take  a  broader  scope.  The 
states  are  one  and  the  Union  is  one.  And  though  there  may  be 
clouds  in  the  political  horizon,  the  day  is  not  dark.  This  is  no  time 
to  despond.  This  is  no  time  to  argue  a  blurred  and  disgraceful 
future.  The  outlook  trom  this  hour  is  too  glorious.  I  see  before 
me  a  nation  whose  sons  and  daughters  toil  nobly  for  the  right ;  who 
go  forth  in  long  procession  to  serve  humanity.  I  see  our  vast  tei*- 
ritory  peopled  with  a  peace-loving,  man-serving  and  God-fearing 
race.  I  see  the  treasures  of  earth  and  hill,  of  stream  and  mine,; 
made  subservient  to  the  common  behoof.  I  see  a  purer,  stronger- 
patriotism,  seeking  the  welfare  of  the  country  and  the  advancement 
of  the  world.  1  see  our  own  nation,  as  the  vanguard  of  God's 
hosts,  leading  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  the  hoped-for  millennium. 
I  see  the  sword  raised  only  as  the  symbol  of  justice.  I  see  hill 
sides  crowned  with  vines,  and  fields  clothed  with  plenty,  and  valleys 
filled  with  busy  industry  and  happy  life.  I  see  a  generous-hearted, 
stout-handed  and  sound-brained  people,  rejoicing  in  enlarged  pros- 
perity and  the  sovereignty  of  virtue  and  right,  and  looking  back  to- 
the  festivals  of  these  centennial  years  throughout  the  land  as  the 
beginning  of  their  new  and  stronger  life. 


Vermont  Day.  61 

So  have  I  faith  in  the  future.  What  was  written  by  Esdras, 
near  the  willow-fringed  rivers  of  Babylon,  more  than  twenty-three 
centuries  ago,  still  holds  good.  "  As  for  Truth,  it  endureth  and  id 
always  strong  ;  It  liveth  and  conquereth  forevermore." 

REMARKS  OF  GENERAL  BANKS. 

In  behalf  of  Massachusetts,  ex-Governor  Nathaniel  P.  Banks 

said,  in  substance : 

He  expressed  his  regrets  that  the  sickness  of  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  state  of  Massachusetts  prevented  his  appearance  in  behalf  of 
the  Bay  State.  He  had  heard  so  much  eloquence,  and  such  au 
admirable  historic  address,  that  the  remarks  he  should  make  would 
form  only  a  sort  of  background  lor  the  illustration  of  those  other 
and  more  interesting  literary  performances.  They  had  heard  the 
gentleman  from  Connecticut,  who  thought  Connecticut  was  such  a 
fine  state.  He  should  judge  from  what  he  had  heard  that  every 
Connecticut  man  that  came  here  must  have  found  an  oflBce.  New 
Hampshire  is  also  a  fine  state,  and  the  people  of  New  Hampshire 
are  a  fine  people,  whether  or  not  it  is  a  good  state  to  emigrate  from. 
He  did  not  think  from  what  he  had  heard  that  Vermont  would  have 
had  very  much  left  for  herself,  if  New  Hampshire  could  have  had 
her  way.  Massachusetts  had  in  the  eai'ly  history  of  Vermont  taken 
the  part  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  in  their  sorrows  and  troubles. 
He  was  not  very  much  learned  in  the  facts  of  that  portion  of  history, 
but  he  thought  that  upon  the  roster  of  Vermont  could  be  found  a 
goodly  number  of  Massachusetts  men.  He  did  not  believe  that 
Massachusetts  had  ever  claimed  any  portion  of  the  Vermont  territory. 
Nevertheless,  Massachusetts  had  a  good  name.  Its  people  are  good ; 
and  he  was  not  at  all  surprised  when  he  arrived  at  Bennington  this 
morning,  to  see  such  good  looking  men  and  women.  If  there  were 
any  bad  citizens  among  them,  or  any  who  need  reclamation,  all  that 
is  necessary  would  be  to  marry  them  to  Vermont  women,  and  all 
would  be  right.  New  York  is  a  fine  state  ;  the  honorable  president 
of  the  day,  and  the  learned  and  eloquent  secretary  of  state  would 
excuse  his  saying  it,  but  he  remembered,  when  Vermont  was  struggling 


62  Bennington  Centennial. 

for  admission  to  the  union  of  states,  New  York  would  not  allow 
her  to  come  in  unless  she  would  give  up  a  large  portion  of  her 
territory.  He  had  always  thougbt  it  was  the  concession  of 
territory  wrung  by  New  York  from  the  state  and  people  of  Ver- 
mont, which  laid  the  foundation  of  magnificent  prosperity  for  the 
state  of  New  York.  But  the  occasion  was  one  that  called  for  some- 
thing more  than  mere  historical  reminiscences.  It  had  been  com- 
mented upon  by  eloquent  speakers  in  words  that  will  live  forever, 
that  will  be  the  text-book  of  those  who  come  after  us,  either  here 
or  elsewhere.  We  must  remember  that  the  lesson  of  this  day  is  to 
continue  the  example  set  before  us  by  those  who  are  departed. 
The  liberty  that  had  been  purchased  by  the  blood  of  American 
heroes,  and  cultured  and  preserved  by  American  statesmen,  is  the 
liberty  that  came  here  to  stay,  and  as  long  as  men  and  women  of 
the  original  stock  hold  possession  of  the  government,  it  will  stay, 
and  be  maintained  in  its  perfection.  Gen.  Banks  then  referred  to 
the  letters  of  Junius,  that  friend  of  liberty  and  of  the  rights  of 
man,  who  battled  for  liberty  against  Parliament,  who  bearded  the 
king  in  his  palace,  and  spoke  words  of  fire  that  will  live  forever, 
whose  love  of  liberty  caused  him  to  dedicate  his  letters  to  the  peo- 
ple. "  Men  and  women  of  Great  Britain,"  be  says  to  them,  "  the 
fee  simple  of  the  country  and  goveniment  is  ours,"  and  that  was 
all  the  foundei-s  of  the  American  government  said  at  their  com- 
mencement. The  fee  simple  is  ours.  This  country,  with  its  atmos- 
phere of  wealth  and  power  is  ours,  and  God  giving  us  the  strength 
and  capacity,  we  will  maintain  it.  What  then  will  preserve  this 
liberty  that  distinguishes  our  country  ?  It  is  truth.  It  is  the  truth 
that  makes  men  free.  Nothing  but  this  will  make  us  so.  It  is  that 
which  nerved  our  fathers,  patriots  and  statesmen  and  heroes,  whose 
grand  acts  we  have  met  here  to  celebrate.  Nothing  but  truth  gave 
to  them  the  victory,  and  in  regard  to  the  machinery  of  the  govern- 
ment the  same  thing  is  true.  He  had  nothing  further  to  say  for 
Massachusetts,  other  than  to  wish  the  Vermonters  God-speed  and 
prosperity,  and  all  power  and  strength  in  the  gi-eat  work  that  is 
before  them. 


Vermont  Day.  63 

SPEECH  OP  GOVERNOR  CONNOR. 

His  Excellency  Selden  Connor,  governor  of  Maine,  responded 
in  behalf  of  that  state  in  these  words  : 

Vermont  and  Maine  are  the  only  New  England  states  that  were 
not  among  those  that  established  the  federal  union.  So  stands  the 
record.  The  fact  remains  that  Vermont  was  with  them  if  she  was 
not  of  them  ;  that  a  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  contest  for 
American  independence  was  wavering  in  the  balance,  there  was 
here  formed  and  declared  a  state  which  has  never  since  then  ceased 
to  maintain  its  existence  as  such.  The  decrees  of  courts,  the 
dictates  of  the  king,  and  the  resolutions  of  congress  were  powerless 
to  prevent  or  defeat  it.  It  derived  its  sanction  and  title  from  a 
higher  authority  than  these.  It  rested  upon  the  will  of  a  people 
who  knew  their  rights,  and  knowing,  dared  maintain  them.  What 
a  strenuous  liberty  was  theirs !  Struggling  to  protect  themselves 
from  a  state  which  demanded  not  only  their  allegiance,  but  their 
lands  and  homesteads  as  well — the  hard  earned  and  dearly  prized 
fruits  of  their  toil,  they  were  yet  not  unmindful  of  the  broader  and 
higher  cause  and  fought  with  their  countrymen  for  human  rights 
and  freedom.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  traditions  of  the 
peculiar  hardships  that  attended  the  birth  of  the  state,  should  have 
developed  in  the  people  of  Vermont  a  little  stronger  and  sturdier 
feeling  of  state  pride  than  exists  in  other  states.  It  is  a  forcible 
illustration  of  that  sentiment  that  in  the  late  war  Vermont  urged  a 
separate  organization  of  her  regiments,  and  the  general  government, 
in  recognition  of  the  spirit  of  her  people  and  perhaps  also  of  the 
propriety  of  making  some  reparation  for  the  ancient  neglect  when 
Vermont  was  kept  waiting  at  the  door  of  the  union,  complied  with 
the  request  and  accorded  her  a  privilege  that  was  granted  in  but 
few  other  instances ;  and  so  the  Green  Mountam  Boys,  standing 
shoulder  to  shoulder  in  a  brigade  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  that 
was  "  far-famed  for  noble  deeds,"  and  in  that  younger  brigade  which 
contributed  so  grandly  to  the  glories  of  Gettysburg,  shed  fresh 
renown  on  the  name  of  their  state. 


54  Bennington  Centennial. 

This  occasion,  the  worthy  celebration  of  an  important  event  and 
of  a  period  of  heroic  action,  is  most  prolific  of  stirring  thoughts 
and  patriotic  reflections.  The  men  of  that  day  had  the  wisdom  to 
perceive  their  duty  and  the  courage  to  do  it.  Not  only  you  who  are 
their  descendants,  but  all  who  love  to  honor  whatever  is  just  and 
great  in  human  aims  and  deeds,  will  ever  hold  in  high  regard  the 
memory  of  the  fathers  of  this  commonwealth,  who  bequeathed  to 
their  country  a  noble,  freedom-loving  state,  and  an  example  which 
will  tend  to  keep  the  spirit  of  liberty  fresh  and  beautiful  as  are  the 
slopes  of  the  green  hills  which  they  loved  and  battled  for. 

GOVERNOR  VAN  ZANDT. 

His  Excellency  Charles  C.  Yan  Zandt,  governor  of  Rhode 
Island,  in  responding  for  his  state,  said  : 

"  Our  state  is  not  a  large  one,  and  I  still  smell  her  forges,  ap^ 
the  aroma  of  her  ocean  blends  with  the  freshness  of  your  green  fields 
and  the  winds  from  your  mountain  lops.  As  I  saw  the  golden  rays 
of  the  sun  reflected  from  old  Greylock  I  foi'gotthat  I  was  nurtured  by 
the  seashore,  and  became  a  Vermonter.  When  I  looked  upon  your 
gi'een  mountains,  I  wished  that  I  was  a  Vermonter.  When  I  saw 
the  red  cheeks  of  your  girls  and  saw  the  sparkle  in  their  eyes,  I 
wished  that  I  was  a  sculptor.  When  I  listened  to  the  heaven-born 
words  of  your  poetical  genius,  I  wished  that  I  was  a  poet.  When 
I  listened  to  the  thoughts  of  your  great  men,  I  wished  that  I  was 
an  orator.''  Continuing,  he  said,  in  substance :  When  he  had 
started  from  home  he  had  thought  what  he  might  bring.  He  could 
not  bring  flowers  to  this  state,  because  the  mountains  were  decked 
with  them  from  their  heads  where  the  stars  shone  in  glittering  con- 
stellations, to  where  their  feet  are  bathed  in  the  silver  lakes  and 
beautiful  rivei's  of  the  state.  So  they  do  not  want  flowers,  except 
a  little  rosemary — that  is  for  remembrance.  As  he  was  talk- 
ing, he  could  hear  a  rustling  of  the  tent,  the  wind  floating  across 
the  hills  of  this  state,  bringing  to  the  cheeks  of  the  women  of  the 
state  a  luddy  look,  and  giving  light  and  life  to  their  eyes — God 
bless  them !     He  wished  this  wind  could  sweep  through  the  great 


Vermont  Day.  56 

•cities,  where  sickness  and  disease  lurks ;  he  wished  it  could  purify 
the  whole  body  politic.  He  then  referred  to  the  late  centennial  of 
Prescott's  capture  while  in  bed  at  Newport,  and  the  burning  of  the 
Gaspee  in  Rhode  Island  waters  ;  also,  to  the  fact  that  his  state  had 
given  to  the  country  the  noble  hearted  Burnside.  "  I  am  a  Dutch- 
man," he  said,  "  but  a  regenerated  Dutchman  ;  and  now  I  am  a 
Yankee  Dutchman." 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

President  Hayes,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Hayes  and  members 
of  his  family,  Attorney  General  Devens,  Secretary  of  War 
McCrary  and  Postmaster  General  Key,  of  his  cabinet — the 
Secretary  of  State,  William  M,  Everts,  being  already  iu  town 
— arrived  in  Bennington  about  four  o'clock,  Wednesday  after- 
noon. The  presidential  party  were  met  at  Troy  by  Col.  Geo. 
\.  Merrill  of  the  Yermont  Centennial  Commission,  and  Col. 
Geo.  D.  Harrington  of  Washington,  and  were  escorted  from 
thence,  over  the  Troy  &  Boston  Railroad  to  Bennington.  A.t 
the  State  line  Adjutant  General  Peck  greeted  the  president 
and,  in  behalf  of  the  state  authorities,  welcomed  him  to  the 
state.  At  the  station  in  Bennington  the  party  was  met  by 
Gov.  Fairbanks  and,  escorted  by  the  Yermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire militia,  was  driven  to  the  residence  of  Rev.  Mr.  Tibbetts, 
Bennington  Center,  where  they  rem  ained  during  their  stay  in 
town.  In  the  evening,  the  president  held  an  informal  recep- 
tion at  the  Walloomsac  house,  which  was  largely  attended. 
During  his  stay,  a  detachment  of  the  veteran  volunteers,  con- 
sisting of  twenty  wounded  and  war  worn  Yermont  soldiers, 
was  detailed  as  a  special  escort  and  marched  by  the  side  of  his 
•carriage  whenever  he  appeared  in  public. 


56  Bennington   Centennial. 


BENNINGTON  BATTLE  DAY. 


The  commemoration  of  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the 
Battle  of  Bennington — August  16, 1877 — was  commenced  with 
a  salute,  at  sunrise,  from  a  battery  of  four  guns — being  the  same 
cannon  captured  from  the  British,  at  Bennington,  just  one 
hundred  years  ago — fired  by  the  Portsmouth  Heavy  Artillery, 
(Co.  K.  1st  Regt.  N.  H.  Militia)  and  by  the  ringing  of  the 
church  bells.  The  streets  were  soon  thronged  with  people, 
and,  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  the  various  organizations 
began  to  arrive  and  take  position  in  the  place  assigned  them. 

All  the  public  buildings  and  most  of  the  private  residences 
and  places  of  business,  especially  those  along  the  route  of  the 
procession  were  handsomely  decorated  with  flags,  bunting,^ 
streamers,  flowers  and  mottoes  ;  while  all  points  of  interest 
connected  with  the  battle  of  Bennington,  with  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  town,  and  with  the  beginning  of  the  state  govern- 
ment of  Yermont  and  the  revolutionary  period  generally,  were 
designated  by  inscriptions,  giving  clear  and  concise  statements 
of  the  events  commemorated.  It  would  be  invidious,  where 
all  was  so  handsomely  and  elaborately,  yet  simply,  done,  to 
particularize  special  decorations ;  yet  we  cannot  forbear  to 
mention  one.  The  grand  central  feature,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
decorations  was  a  triumphal  arch  at  the  conjunction  of  Main, 
North  and  South  streets.  Tliis  was  a  magnificent  structure, 
decorated  upon  either  side  with  the  coats-of-arms  of  the  several 
states,  with  that  of  Yermont  on  the  keystone,  while  on  the 
reverse  was  that  of  the  United  States,  and  upon  either  side  was 


^X/       \Cy:^-0 


MAJ.   OEIN,  JOHN    STARK  . 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  67 

inscribed  the  words  "  Peace  has  her  victories  no  less  than  war," 
and  the  historic  words  of  Gen,  Stark,  "  There  are  the  red- 
coats ;  they  are  ours,  or  Molly  Stark  sleeps  a  widow  tonight ;" 
and  upon  either  post,  supporting  the  structure,  the  dates 
"  1777,"  "  1877  "  respectively. 

THE  PROCESSION 

was  formed,  under  the  direction  of  Maj.  A.  B.  Yalentine,  chief 
marshal,  at  the  foot  of  County  street  in  the  following  order  : 

PLATOON   OF    POLICE. 

A.  B.  Valentine,  Chief  Marshal. 

ASSISTANTS    TO    THE    CHIEF    MARSHAL: 

Gen.  J.  N.  Patterson  of  New  Hampshii-e, 
Col.  Isaac  F.  Kingsbury  of  Massachusetts. 

CHIEF    marshal's    STAFF  : 

*Maj.  E.  N.  S.  Morgan,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Col.  J.  H.  Goulding,  Adjutant  General. 

Maj.  S.  H.  Brown,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Capt.  E.  L.  Roberts,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

J.  L.  Martin,  Chief  Quartermaster. 

H.  G.  Root,  Assistant  Quartermaster. 
♦Chas.  E.  Dewey,  H.  B.  Kent, 

Barber  Chase,  Park  Valentine, 

J.  K.  Batchelder,  C.  R.  Sanford, 

*M.  B.  Morgan,  O.  D.  Adams. 

Col.  H.  B.  Clapp,  *W.  E.  Hawks, 

Col.  A.  G.  Watson,  C.  H.  Forbes, 

George  A.  Smith,  H.  E.  Bradford, 

♦Edward  Kingsley,  W.  A.  Root, 

G.  H.  Day,  S.  B.  Hall, 

•Moses  Robinson,  W.  H.  Willard, 

*01in  Scott,  Gil  man  Warren, 

•James  H.  White,  A.  J.  Tucker, 


58  Bennington  Centennial. 

G.  B.  Sibley,  Dexter  Waite, 

Capt.  H.  L.  Shields,  S.  D.  Curtis. 

Ransom  t^uard  Band. 

FIBST   BEGIKENT   NATIONAL    GUARD    OF   VERMONT, 

Col.  T,  S.  Peck,  Commanding. 

With  the  cannon  captured  from  the  British  in  the  Battle  of  Ben- 
nington, August  16th,  1777,  in  charge  of  a  detail  from  Fuller's 
Battery,  N.  G.  of  Vermont, 

Escorting  the  Procession. 

Park  Guard  Band. 
Park  Guard  of  Bennington,  (Co.  K  1st  Reg.  N.  G.  of  Vt)  Capt. 

N.  O.  Wilcox,  escorting 

His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  and  Commander-in 

Chief,  and  Staff. 

STAFF : 

Brig.  General  James  S.  Peck,  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General. 
Brig.  General  Levi  G.  Kingsley,  Quartermaster  General. 
Brig.  Gen.  Joel  H.  Lucia,  Judge  Advocate  General. 
Dr.  Heniy  C.  Newell,  Surgeon  General. 

Col.  John  A.  Sheldon,  Chief  of  Staff. 

aids: 
Col.  J.  J.  Estey,  Col.  W.  G.  Veazey, 

Col.  Albert  C.  Hubbell,  Col.  Wm.  Wells, 

Col.  A.  W.  Hastings,  Col.  E.  A.  Chittenden, 

Col.  Roswell  Faruham.  Col.  A.  B.  Jewett, 

Col.  Wm.  W.  Grout,  Col.  W.  P.  Dillingham, 

Col.  Fred.  E.  Smith. 
A.  E.  Rankin,  Secretary  of  Civil  and  Military  Affairs. 
Hon.  E.  J.  Phelps,  Chairman  Vermont  Centennial  Commission  and 

President  of  the  Day. 
Company  of  Veteran  Soldiers,  detailed  from  the  Reunion  Organi- 
zation as  special  escort  to 
The  President  of  the  United  States. 


Be7inington  Battle  Day.  89 

CABINET  : 

Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State, 
Hon.  Charles  Devens,  Attorney  General, 
Hon.  Geo.  W.  McCrary,  Secretary  of  War, 
Hon.  David  M.  Key,  Post  Master  General. 


FIRST  DIVISION. 

Col.  W.  G.  Veazey,  Marshal  Commanding. 

STAFF : 

Maj.  E.  J.  Ormsbee,  Col.  K.  Haskins, 

Col.  M.  S.  Colburn,  Maj.  R.  B.  Ames, 

Capt.  E.  A.  Morse,  Capt.  E.  H.  Armstrong. 

Brandon  Cornet  Band. 

Putnam  Phalanx  Fife  and  Drum  Corps. 

Putnam  Phalanx  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, 

Maj.  F.  M.  Brown,  Commanding,  escorting, 

The  Orator  of  the  Day,  President  Bartlett  of  Dartmouth  College. 

Reader  of  Poem  by  William  CuUen  Bryant,  Prof.  J.  W.  Churchill 

of  Andover,  Mass. 

BENNINGTON    BATTLE    MONUMENT  ASSOCIATION, 

His  Excellency  Horace  Faii'banks,  President. 

BXECUTITE    committee: 

A.  B.  Gardner,  A.  B.  Valentine,  A.  P.  Childs,  Charles  E.  Dewey, 
Olin  Scott. 
Members  of  the  Association. 

VERMONT    CENTENNIAL    COMMISSION. 

First  Vice-President,  Hon.  Hiland  Hall. 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE  :  \ 

Henry  G.  Root,  Chairman  ;  M.  C.  Huling,  A.  B.  Valentine,  Geo.  A. 

Merrill,  C.  S.  Page,  Charles  M.  Bliss,  Secretary. 

Members  of  the  Commission. 

United  States  Senators.     Representatives  in  Congress. 

Vice  Admiral  S-  C.  Rowan,  U.  S.  Navy. 


60  Bennington  Centennial. 

GOVERNORS    OF    STATES. 

His  Excellency  Sheldon  Connor,  Governor  of  Maine. 

STAFF  : 

Brig.  General  J.  P.  Cilley,  Adjutant  General. 

Brig.  General  C.  W.  Tilden,  Inspector  General. 

Col.  H.  N.  Small,  Asst.  Surgeon  General. 

Col.  H.  H.  Burbank,  Asst.  Judge  Advocate  General. 

Lt.  Col.  J.  B.  Peaks,  Asst.  Commissary  General. 
Aides-de-Camp : 
Lt  Col.  F.  C.  Heath,  Lt.  Col.  J.  W.  Spaulding, 

Lt.  Col.  Philo  Hersey,  Lt  Col.  J.  T.  Richards. 

His  Excellency  Charles  C.  Van  Zandt  Governor  of  Rhode  Island 

STAFF  : 

Brig.  General  H.  C.  Favour,  Adjutant  General. 
Col.  S.  R.  Honey,  Chief  of  Staff. 

AIDS  : 

Col.  F.  G.  Allen,  Col.  George  T.  French, 

Col.  J.  P.  Sanborn,  Col.  W.  J.  Cozzens, 

,    Col.  Charles  Potter,  Col.  A.  Prescott  Baker. 

Hon.  John  Addeman,  Secretary  of  State. 
Distinguished  Guests. 


SECOND   DIVIRION. 

Col  George  W.  Hooker  Marshal,  Commanding. 
STAFF  : 

Col.  D.  D.  Wheeler,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Gen.  W.  W.  Lynde,  y  ssistant  Adjutant  General. 

Maj.  Henry  R.  Chase,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Maj.  H.  R.  Lawrence,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Barney  Cameron,  S.  Wright  Bowker, 

C.  M.  Russell,  S.  W.  Bailey, 

H.  F.  Brooks,  H.  M.  Currier, 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  61 

Dr.  E.  J.  Titus,  A.  M.  McDonald, 

A.  R.  Dunklee,  11.  M.  Silsby, 

A.  Starkey,  H.  G.  Porter, 

J.  G.  Taylor,  Maj.  B.  R.  Jenne, 

U.  W.  Stewart,  C.  L.  Piper, 

D.  S.  Priest,  Dr.  Henry  Tucker, 

C.  H.  Norton,  Col.  Preston  C.  F.  West, 

Maj.  R-M.  Gould,  J.G.Martin, 

C.  F.  Estabrook,  B.  F.  Phelps, 

G.  E.  Selleck,  N.  I.  Hawley, 

Dr.  Walter  Mendelson,  F.  E.  Ray, 

H.  E.  Taylor,  H.  M.  Wilder, 
J.  H.  Cutler. 

VETERAN    soldiers'  REUNION. 

*0ol.  J.  H.  Walbridge  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Sherman  Band. 

Ist  Brigade — Col.  A.  F.  Walker  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Band. 

2d  Brigade — Col.  F.  G.  Butterfield  Commanding,  and  Staff". 

Band. 

8d  Brigade — Col.  A.  S.  Tracy  Commanding,  and  Staff". 

Band. 

4th  Brigade — Col.  F.  V.  Randall  Commanding,  and  Staff. 

Guests  of  the  Reunion 

STATE    GOVERNMENT   OF   VERMONT. 

Executive  Department. 

His  Honor,  Redfield  Proctor,  Lieutenant  Governor. 

George  Nichols,  Secretary  of  State. 

John  A.  Page,  Treasurer. 

Jed  P.  Ladd,  Auditor. 

THE   STATE  JUDICIARY. 

Hon.  John  Pierpoint,  Chief  Justice. 

Hon.  James  Barrett,  Hon.  Homer  E.  Royce,  Hon.  Timothy  P. 

Redfield,  Hon.  Jonathan  Ross,  Hon.  H.  Henry  Powers, 

Hon.  Walter  C.  Dunton,  Justices. 


62  Bennington  Centennial. 

The  Senate  of  Vermont,  Hon.  Wm.  W.  Grout,  President  pro  tem. 

F.  W.  Baldwin,  Secretary. 

The  House  of  Resresentatives,  Hon.  John  W.  Stewart,  Speaker. 

George  R.  Chapman,  Clerk. 

Ex-Governors  of  Vermont. 

Other  Civic  and  Military  Organizations  of  Vermont. 

Bennington  Fire  Department. 


THIRD   DIVISION. 

Gen.  W.  W.  Henry,  Marshal,  Commanding. 

STAFF. 

Maj.  E.  P.  Farr,  Chief  of  Staff. 
James  B.  Scully,  A.  A.  G.,  George  Austin,  Maj.  A.  Austin,  Buel  J» 

Derby. 

Manchester  Cornet  Band. 

Amoskeag  Veterans  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Maj.  A.  C  Wallace 

Commanding,  escorting 

His  Excellency  B.  F.  Prescott,  Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

STAFF. 

Col.  Solon  A.  Carter,  Chief  of  Staff. 
Col.  B.  W.  Hoyt,  Col.  Charles  A.  Gillis, 

Col.  John  Bracewell,  Col.  J.  E.  Pecker, 

Col.  George  L.  Ordway,  Col.  Geo.  H.  Stowell, 

Col.  A.  W.  Quint,  Col.  Charles  H.  Greenleaf, 

Col.  M.  A.  Haynes,  Col.  Ossian  Ray. 

EXECUTIVE   COITiCIL  : 

Hon  J.  B.  Smith,  Hon.  John  M.  Parker,  Hon.  Edward  Spaulding,. 
Hon.  Francis  A.  Cushman,  Hon.  Jeremiah  Blodgett. 

STATE    OFFICERS  ! 

Hon.  A.  B.  Thompson,  Secretary  of  State. 
Hon.  Solon  A.  Carter,  Treasurer. 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Bouton,  State  Historian. 
Wm.  H.  Sise,  Commissary  General. 
President  of  the  Senate,  Hon.  Natt  Head. 


JBennington  Battle  Day.  6ft 

Speaker  of  the  House,  Hon.  A.  A.  Woolson. 
Legislature  of  New  Hampshire. 
Col.  Charles  C,  Danforth,  Clerk  of  the  House. 
A.  W.  Baker,  Assistant  Clerk  of  the  House. 
Manchester  War  Veterans  of  New  Hampshire  Militia,  Capt.  Geo. 
H.  Dodge,  escorting  City  Govei'nraent  of  Manchester,  N.  H. 
Hon.  Ira  Cross,  Mayor. 
Nathan  P.  Kidder,  City  Clerk. 
Hon,  H.  R.  Chamberlain,  City  Treasurer. 
Hon.  John  M.  Staunton,  President  of  Common  Council. 
Aldei'men  and  Meuibers  of  Common  Council. 
Brown's  Liand. 
Battallion   ()f  New  Hampshire  Militia,  Col-  D.  M.  White,  Com- 
manding. 
Portsmouth  Heavy  Artillery,  Co.  K,  1st  Reg.,  Capt.  J.  D.  Vaughn, 

Commanding. 
Gov.  Cheney  Guards,  Peterboro,  Co  B  1st  Reg.,  Capt.  J.  F.  Moore, 

Commanding. 
Stafford  Guards,  Dover,  Co.  A,  2d  Reg.,  Capt.  J.  S.  Abbott,  Com- 
manding. 
Hinsdale  Guards,  Co.  C,  2d  Reg.,  Capt.  Horace  Hosford,  Com- 
manding. 
State  Capitol   Guards,  Concord,  Co.  K,  lid  Reg.,  Capt.  George  M. 
Felt,  Commanding. 
Commissioned  Officers  New  Hampshire  State  Militia. 


FOURTH    DIVISION. 

•Col.  John  E.  Pratt,  Marshal  Commanding. 

STAFF : 

Capt.  E.  C.  Houghton.  Chief  of  Staff. 
H.  S.  Bingham,  Assistant  Adjutant  General, 
J.  V.  Hupf,  'Fied.  Pratt, 

•Andrew  Keyes. 
Boston  Cadet  Band,  26  pieces,  J.  C.  MuUaly,  Band  Master. 


64  Bennington  Centennial. 

First  Corps  of  Cadets,  Lt.  Col.  Thomas  F.  Edmunds,  Commanding^ 

escorting 

His  Honor,  Horatio  G.  Knight,  Lieut.  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

STAFF : 

Maj.  Gen.  James  A.  Cunningham,  Adjutant  GeneraL 

Col.  I.  F.  Kingsbury,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Col.  C.  Frank  Luther,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

Brig.  Gen.  O.  G.  Atwood,  Inspector  General. 

Col.  E.  G.  Stevens,  Assistant  Inspector  General. 

Lt.  Col.  A.  H.  Berry,  Assistant  Inspector  General. 

Lt.  Col.  F.  Mason,  Assistant  Inspector  General. 

Col.  Henry  G.  Parker,  Assistant  Quartermaster  General. 

Brig.  Gen.  Wilmon  W.  Blackmar,  Judge  Advocate  Gen. 

Col.  Wm.  V.  Hiitchings,  Aide-de-Camp. 

Col.  Arthur  T.  Lyman,  Aide  de-Camp. 

Col.  Wm.  A.  Tower,  Aide-de-Carap. 

Col.  Wm.  P.  Alexander,  Aide-de  Camp. 

Col.  George  H.  Campbell,  Military  Secretary. 

EXECUTIVE    COUNCIL  : 

Hon.  George  Whitney,  Hon.  J.  A.  Harwood, 

Hon.  Joseph  K.  Baker,  Hon.  Wm.  C.  Plunkett, 

Hon.  William  Coggswell,  Hon.  Hugh  Toland, 

Hon.  Harrison  Tweed,  Hon.  Francis  Childs. 

Hon.  Henry  B,  Pierce,  Secretary  of  State. 
Hon.  Charles  Endicott,  Treasurer  and  Receiver  General. 
Hon.  Julius  L.  Clark,  Auditor  of  Accounts. 
Sergeant-at-Arms,  O   F.  Mitchell. 
The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts. 
President  of  the  Senate,  Hon.  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell. 
Clerk  of  the  Senate,  S.  N.  Gifford. 
Speaker  of  the  House,  Hon.  John  D.  Long. 
Clerk  of  the  House,  George  A.  Marden. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  65 

FIFTH    DIVISION. 

Col.  L.  K.  Fuller,  Marshal  Commanding. 

STAKF  : 

Maj.  H.  R.  Chase,  Chief  of  Staff. 
Capt.  S.  H.  Kelley,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 
Capt.  R.  B.  Arms,  G.  C.  Noble, 

G.  S.  Dowley,  J.  G.  Martin, 

Rev.  R.  M.  Luther,  A.  C.  Mitchell, 

A.  R.  Dunklee. 
Boring's  Band  of  Troy,  N.  Y. 
Tibbetts'  Corps,  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.,  Col.  Joseph  Egolf,  Commanding. 
Tibbetts'  Cadets,  7th   Co.  N.  G.  S.  N.  Y.,  Capt.  J.  H.  Patten, 
Commanding. 
Fuller  Battery,  N.  G.  of  Vt.,  Lieut.  C.  R.  Briggs,  Commanding. 

The  column  moved  on  time  through  North  street  to  Pleas- 
ant, up  Pleasant  to  Main,  and  under  the  Grand  Arch  to  Dewey 
street,  and  thence  to  the  Centennial  grounds,  where  the  pro- 
cession passed  in  review  before  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

President  Hayes  then  welcomed  the  procession  with  brief  and  appro- 
priate words,  congratulating  the  State  of  Vermont  upon  the  felici- 
tous beginning  and  progress  of  this  centennial  occasion,  making 
reference  to  the  interest  manifested  in  her  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  founding  of  the  state  and  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
by  the  visiting  officials  of  her  sister  states,  the  military  and  the 
thousands  present. 

President  Hayes  concluded  by  introducing  his  cabinet.  Secre- 
tary Evarts  spoke  bi'iefly,  and  then  introduced  Mrs.  Hayes,  very 
happily,  as  President  Hayes'  "  Molly  Stark."  This  episode  caused 
great  enthusiasm  and  continued  applause. 

The  procession  was  then  conducted  to  the  Oration  Tentj 
the  President  and  officers  of  the ,  day,  the  Orator,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  his  cabinet,  the  governors  of 

•Lineal  descendants  of  those  who  fought  in  the  Battle  of  Bennington. 
5 


66  Bennington   Centennial. 

states  and  other  invited  guests  being  escorted  to  the  platform 
by  Chief  Marshal  A.  B.  Valentine.  Prayer  was  thereupon 
offered  by  Rev.  John  Wheelock  Allen  of  North  Woodstock, 
Conn.,  a  grandson  of  the  fighting  Parson  Allen,  as  follows : 

PRAYER. 

Almighty  God  !  Our  Heavenly  Father !  We  acknowledge  Thee- 
as  King  of  Kings,  and  Lord  of  Lords !  Thou  dost  exalt  the  hum- 
ble and  abase  the  proud.  Thou  dost  lead  Princes  away  spoiled  and 
otherthrow  the  mighty ! 

We  thank  Thee,  that  by  Thy  guiding  hand  our  Fathers  were  led 
across  the  sea,  and  that  when  they  were  weak  and  few  in  number,. 
Thou  didst  deliver  them  from  savage  foes  and  plant  them  safely  in 
a  desert  land. 

We  thank  Thee  tor  Thy  blessing  on  their  prayerful  efforts  to- 
establish  in  the  wilderness,  institutions  devoted  to  civil  libetry — to 
education  and  pure  and  undefiled  religion . 

We  thank  Thee  that,  when  these  institutions  were  in  peril.  Thou 
didst  unite  and  inspire  their  hearts  in  the  great  struggle  for  national 
independence,  and  raise  up  wise  men  for  council  and  valiant  men 
for  war. 

We  thank  Thee,  that  when  in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  strife 
invading  foes  met  our  Fathers  in  conflict.  Thou  didst  appear  for 
their  defence.  They  cried  unto  Thee  for  help,  and  Thou,  Oh. 
our  God !  didst  hear  their  prayer,  and  put  to  flight  the  armies  oi 
the  aliens. 

We  thank  Thee,  that  when  our  independence  was  achieved  the 
same  Divine  aid  enabled  our  Fathers  to  establish  a  constitution  and. 
government,  under  which  we  have  attained  a  high  position  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

And  we  thank  Thee,  that  when  in  later  years  our  union  as  a 
nation  has  been  threatened,  Thou  didst  appear  in  a  signal  manner 
lor  our  relief,  and  that  in  the  triumphs  of  Freedom  the  ends  of  the- 
earth  have  seen  the  salvation  of  our  God.  In  gratitude  for  all  Thy 
loving-kindnesses  and  tender  mercies,  we  would  take  the  cup  of" 
Thanksgiving  and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 


JBennington  Battle  Day.  67 

And  we  praise  Thee,  to-day,  our  Heavenly  Father,  for  the  joyful 
gathering  of  this  vast  multitude,  who  have  come  hither  from  all 
parts  of  our  broad  land,  and  who  have  a  common  interest  in  this 
occasion.  May  our  hearts  beat  in  sympathy  as  we  commemorate 
the  soul  stirring  events  of  the  past.  And  as  we  tread  the  soil  where 
one  hundred  years  ago  to-day  the  blood  of  our  Fathers  flowed  in 
the  struggle  for  Liberty,  may  we  be  moved  by  their  patriotism — 
catch  their  inspiration — follow  them  in  the  march  of  duty,  and  so 
prove  om-selves  worthy  to  be  called  their  descendants. 

And  hear,  our  Heavenly  Father !  we  beseech  Thee,  our  humble 
supplications  for  this  nation.  Bless  Thy  servant,  the  President  of 
these  United  States,  who  through  Thy  goodness  is  with  us  to-day 
in  these  rejoicings.  May  he  rule  in  Thy  fear  and  according  to  Thy 
most  righteous  law. 

May  his  Councilors  be  guided  by  Divine  wisdom  in  their  impor- 
tant deliberations. 

Rule  in  our  National  Congress,  and  may  a  spirit  of  true  Patriot- 
ism secure  such  legislation  as  shall  give  peace  and  prosperity  to  the 
whole  land. 

May  Thy  blessing  rest  upon  the  Governors  of  this  and  other 
states  who  are  here  present,  and  impart  to  them  Thy  favor  as  they 
need.  And  may  our  Judges,  and  all  who  hold  stations  of  trust  and 
influence  in  the  land,  be  just  men,  fearing  God  and  hating  covet- 
ousness. 

Bless  all  the  industries  of  the  land. 

Bless  our  schools  and  seminaries  of  Learning.  And  bless  the 
Church  planted  by  Thine  own  hand.  Purify  it  and  prosper  it  to 
the  end  whereunto  Thou  didst  establish  it. 

Mete  out  to  us,  in  all  our  necessities.  Thy  special  blessings,  and 
may  our  heritage  be  secure  and  glorious.  And  crown  with  success, 
we  humbly  beseech  Thee,  every  laudable  effort  to  make  this  occa- 
sion one  of  lasting  benefit.  May  the  memory  of  the  deeds  and 
virtues  of  our  Fathers  be  written  not  only  on  mai-ble,  but  be 
engraven  upon  the  tablet  of  the  heart  deeper  than  with  a  pen  of 
iron  and  the  point  of  a  diamond.  Open  Thou  the  lips  of  all  who 
may  address  us.     May  their  words,  fitly  spoken,  be  like  apples  of 


68  Jiennington  Centennial. 

gold  in  pictures  of  silver.     May  we  learn  the  price  of  Liberty  and 
be  faithful  stewards  of  the  transmitted  trust. 

Hear  us,  iti  these  our  humble  supplications.  And  may  the  God 
of  our  Fathers,  who  is  our  God,  be  our  childrens'  God  through  all 
generations.  And  with  one  heart  and  voice  we  will  ascribe  all 
praise  unto  Him  who  giveth  us  victory  and  peace  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. — Amen. 

The  audience,  all  standing,  united  in  singing  "  A.merica." 

1.  My  Country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing : 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride. 
From  every  mountain  side 

Let  freedom  ring ! 

2.  My  native  country,  thee — 
Land  of  the  noble  free — 

Thy  name  I  love  ! 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above. 

3.  Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  freedom's  song! 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake ; 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake ; 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break. — 

The  sound  prolong. 

4.  Our  fathers'  God!  to  thee, 
Author  of  liberty, 

To  Thee  we  sing : 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light ; 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  69 

Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps,  president  of  the  day,  introduced 
His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  governor  of  Yermont,  who 
Sfdd: 

GOVERNOR  FAIRBANKS'  ADDRESS. 

Mr.  President  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

It  is  well,  and  we  are  glad,  that  this  memorable  occasion  should 
be  honored  by  the  presence  of  citizens  and  the  chief  executive  officers 
of  so  many  of  our  states,  and  especially  by  the  presence  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  his  cabinet.  The  heroic  deeds  of  one 
hundred  years  ago  were  not  done  to  achieve  the  independence  or  lib- 
erty of  any  one  colony  or  state, but  to  achieve  the  liberties  of  America. 
Fellow  citizens  of  this  gi'eat  republic,  and  patriot  soldiers,  lovers 
of  human  rights  and  liberty,  in  the  name  of  the  state  of  Vermont, 
I  bid  you  a  hearty  and  most  cordial  welcome  to  these  commemora- 
tive services  and  hallowed  associations.  Well  will  it  be  if  from 
them  we  catch  and  carry  away  in  some  measure  the  same  patriotic 
devotion  to  universal  freedom  which  inspired  those  valiant  heroes 
on  yonder  battlefield  one  hundred  years  ago. 

Rev.  Samuel  C.  Bartlett,  D.  D.,  president  of  Dartmouth 
college,  the  orator  of. the  day,  was  then  introduced,  and  delivered 
the  following  oration : 

PRESIDENT  BARTLETT'S  ORATION. 

From  the  top  of  Mount  Anthony  the  eye  looks  out  on  a  pano- 
rama of  singular  extent  and  beauty.  Westward  the  Adirondacks, 
dim  with  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  or  more,  the  Helderbergs 
and  the  Catskills  ;  southward  Greylock,  Saddle  and  Bald ;  the  long 
Green  Mountain  wall  on  the  east ;  and  the  Killington  Peak  sixty 
miles  away  to  the  north,  outline  a  vast  amphitheatre  of  hill  and 
vale,  of  fertile  fields  and  graceful  forests,  dotted  with  thrifty  villages 
and  happy  homes.  The  steam  puffs  up  hi  sight  from  half  a  dozen 
railway  lines,  and  there  are  glimpses  of  the  Hoosack  and  Walloom- 
sac,  bordered  with  manufactories.  Nestled  invisibly  away  are 
churches  and  schools  and  banks  and  printing  presses,  here  a  mine 


70  Bennington  Ceiitennial. 

and  there  a  college.  As  the  day  declines,  silver  streamlets  come 
glinting  forth  with  reflected  sunbeams  from  the  broad  expanse  of 
rich  farming  lands,  a  near  fountain  spreads  its  lofty  spray  upon  the 
air,  and  at  length  there  settles  down  over  the  whole  landscape,  that 
mellow  and  dreamy  hue  which  makes  it  seem  ol  some  other  world. 
But  this  is  no  dream-land  vision.  These  things  all  lie  on  the  soil  ot 
three  sovereign  states,  and  they  are  the  substantial  tokens  of  industiy, 
cultnre,  peace  and  prosperity,  the  ripest  fruits  of  republican  liberty. 

On  a  bright  morning,  one  hundred  years  ago  to-day,  a  German 
officer,  on  an  eminence  five  miles  from  here,  looked  forth  admir- 
ingly on  a  part  of  this  same  landscape,  then  "  rife,"  he  said,  "  with 
pastoral  beauty" — "a  wide  sweep  of  stately  forests  interrupted  at 
remote  intervals  by  green  meadows  and  fertile  cornfields,  with  here 
and  there  a  cottage,  a  shed  or  other  primitive  edifice,"  and  Benning- 
ton was  "  a  cluster  of  poor  cottages  in  a  wild  country."  Around 
him  was  a  well  appointed  military  band  glittering  with  arms,  some 
of  them  in  brass  helmets,  some  in  red  coats,  some  in  citizens'  garb  ; 
and  dusky  forms  in  war-paint  hung  upon  the  outskirts.  Two  miles 
this  side  ol  him,  hidden  from  his  sight,  lay  another  band,  ill-armed 
and  miscellaneously  clad,  lai-gely  in  cloth  of  tow  or  linen  dyed  with 
butternut  or  maple,  and  too  deeply  absorbed  in  their  daybreak  prep- 
arations to  spend  one  thought  upon  the  glory  of  the  earth  or  sky. 
Between  these  two  bodies  of  troops,  and  in  good  measure  on  that 
day's  struggle,  hung  pending  the  question  whether  the  pastoral 
beauty  of  that  time  should  unfold  into  all  the  civic  freedom  and 
blessing  of  this. 

The  natural  theme  of  our  thoughts  therefore  is,  The  Place  of  the 
Battle  of  Bennington  in  the  History  of  Our  Country. 

The  early  days  of  August,  1777,  were  a  culminating  time  of 
gloom  and  alarm.  For  more  than  a  twelvemonth  the  tide  of  our 
prospects  had  steadily  ebbed  until  the  shoals  and  reefs  were  plainly 
in  sight.  In  the  opening  of  our  great  conflict,  the  first  dash  of  our 
arms  had  carried  all  before  it.  The  British  army  and  its  favorite 
generals.  Gage,  Howe,  Clinton  and  Burgoyne,  were  peimed  up  in 
Boston  with  bitter  memories  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  then  driven 
forth  to  find  a  shelter  in  Halifax.     Lord  Dunmore  was  expelled 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  71 

irom  Norfolk,  and  took  refuge  on  his  fleet.  Ticonderoga,  Crown 
Point,  St.  Johns  and  Montreal  had  been  taken  in  rapid  successioa, 
and  Quebec  alone  had  escaped.  From  Canada  to  Virginia  we  had 
made  a  clean  sweep. 

But  a  change  came.  Just  before  our  Independence  was  declared, 
the  last  of  our  troops  were  driven  out  of  Canada,  in  the  strong  but 
true  language  of  the  day,  "  disgraced,  defeated,  discontented,  dispir- 
ited, diseased,  undisciplined."  The  day  before  that  Declaration  was 
read  to  the  army  on  Broadway,  Howe  landed  on  Staten  Island  the 
first  detachment  of  twenty-six  thousand  troops.  Then  followed  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island,  the  evacuation  of  New  York,  the 
reverse  of  White  Plains,  the  surrender  ot  forts  Lee  and  Washing- 
ton, the  chase  of  our  army  through  the  Jerseys,  and  the  capture 
•of  Charles  Lee,  the  second  in  command  and  then  the  idol  of  the 
army,  just  as  he  was  writing  to  Gates  a  profane  attack  upon  his 
chief.  And  before  our  great  General  retreated  grimly  southward,  con- 
spired against  by  his  leading  officers,  distrusted  even  by  John  Adams 
for  his  "Fabian  Policy,"  chafed  by  the  internal  jealousies  of  his  army, 
and  baffled  of  every  plan  by  the  incessant  changes  of  his  troops, 
there  came,  like  some  Job's  message,  tidings  from  the  North,  that 
our  fleet  of  fifteen  sail  on  Lake  Champlain  was  exterminated,  Crown 
Point  burned  and  abandoned,  and  our  Northern  Army  cooped  up 
in  its  last  stronghold  at  Ticonderoga.  Washington  indeed  kept 
merry  Christmas  with  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  and  paid  his  New 
Year's  compliments  to  the  British  at  Princeton.  These  two  flashes 
^lone  flickered  over  the  sombre  scene. 

The  flush  and  ardor  of  transient  conflicts  had  now  given  way  to 
the  tug  and  strain  of  protracted  war.  And  what  a  war !  Oflen 
destitute  of  tents,  blankets,  medicines,  good  clothing  and  whole- 
some food ;  short  of  arms  and  ammunition ;  without  money  or 
•credit ;  I  might  almost  say,  long  without  an  army.  For  by  short 
enlistments  our  troops  continually  melted  away,  sometimes  in  the 
presence  of  the  foe.  And  short  enlistments  were  growing  difficult ; 
for  in  these  sparse,  new,  and  poor  settlements,  how  could  the  men 
be  spared  from  their  homes  ?    The  camp,  too,  was  as  fatal  as  the 


72  Jiennington  Centennial, 

battle  field.  It  was  invaded  by  camp  fever  and  dysentery,  and 
steadily  beleaguered  by  the  small  pox.  At  one  time  in  '76,  Schuy- 
ler in  three  months  had  lost  half  of  his  ten  thousand  men  by  death 
and  desertion,  and  two-fifths  of  the  remainder  were  on  the  sick-list. 
Each  northern  state  carried  special  burdens.  Vermont  wa& 
engaged  in  the  long  and  gallant  strife  for  state  rights  and  indi- 
vidual ownership  of  the  soil.  New  York  was  overrun  with  loyal- 
ists, of  whom  numbers  had  been  sent  to  the  New  England  states 
for  safe  keeping, — two  hundred  at  one  time  in  the  jails  and  house* 
of  New  Hampshire.  The  state  of  New  Hampshire,  so  intensely 
patriotic  that  only  seven  hundred  and  seventy-three  out  of  her 
whole  population  had,  whether  from  conscientious  or  political  scru- 
ples, refused  to  sign  the  pledge  to  resist  the  foe  "  with  arras,  at  the 
risque  of  our  lives  and  fortunes,"  was  yet  distracted  with  the  mag- 
nitude and  multitude  of  her  eflForts.  I  may  not  weary  you  with 
the  long  recital.  Enough  that  when  a  state's  militia  enrollment 
extends  from  the  age  of  fifteen  up  to  fifty,  and  her  "  alarm  list "  to 
sixty  five  ;  and  when  at  length  orders  are  given  to  draft  one-half 
even  of  that  alarm  list,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  strain  has  reached 
her  vital  forces. 

The  outlook,  also,  in  these  earlier  months  of  the  year  was  for- 
bidding. A  powerful  fleet  lay  southward  at  the  centre  of  motion, 
ready  to  strike  at  any  part  of  our  vast  coast  line.  The  way  was- 
well-nigh  clear  for  an  early  invasion  from  the  North.  Canadian  sym- 
pathies were  lost.  The  Indian  tribes,  that  six  months  before  had 
refused  to  mingle  in  this  "  quarrel,"  as  they  phrased  it,  "  between 
two  brothers  of  one  blood,"  were  listening  to  the  enemy.  Franklin 
was  waiting  in  vain  at  the  French  Court  for  a  recognition  of  our 
country. 

And  now  the  plot  was  deepening.  Burgoyne  in  Loudon  laid 
before  King  George,  in  February,  a  plan  to  close  the  war.  Howe 
had  sent  across  the  ocean  a  still  larger  scheme,  which  "  would  strike 
terror  through  the  country"  and  "break  down  all  resistance  to  his 
majesty's  troops."  Both  agreed  in  this,  that  one  army  should  move 
apthe  Hudson,  another  descend  from  the  north  and  meet  at  Albany. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  73 

They  would  thus  cut  the  rebel  serpent  in  twain,  and  separately 
crush  its  New  England  head  and  its  Southern  body.* 

The  scheme  was  a  good  one.  It  might  have  adjourned  our  lib- 
erties for  fifty  years.  Who  marred  that  plot?  In  England,  King 
George  and  Lord  George  Germain  ;  in  America,  John  Burgoyne 
and  Charles  Lee.  The  dull  king  had  a  way  of  meddling  in  detail 
with  all  the  business  of  his  great  empire.  In  the  British  Museum 
you  can  read,  in  his  own  handwi'iting,  his  comments  on  the  plan  of 
Burgoyne,  restricting  his  forces,  withholding  all  discretionary 
power,  and  requiring  him  simply  "  to  join  Howe  at  Albany."t  But 
that  equally  positive  orders  were  not  issued  to  Howe  we  may  thank 
Lord  George  Germain.  The  Minister  called  at  his  office.  The 
dispatch,  all  written,  was  not  "  fair-copied."  So  Germain  hurried 
off  heedlessly  to  the  country.  The  unsigned  dispatch  was  pigeon- 
holed, and  was  found  again — after  the  surrender  at  Saratoga.  J 

There  have  been  worse  commanders,  and  not  many  more  polished 
gentlemen  of  his  style  than  John  Burgoyne.  "  A  raaa  of  wit, 
fashion  and  honor,"  says  Macaulay.  He  eloped  with  Lord  Derby's 
daughter,  and  was  forgiven  by  the  family.  He  wrote  elaborate 
letters,  genteel  comedies,  and  flaming  proclamations.  "  The  charm 
of  his  manner,"  it  was  said,  "  neither  man  nor  woman  could  resist.'* 
That  was  left  for  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  He  wore  on  his 
finger  a  diamond  ring  given  him  by  the  king  of  Portugal  for  his 
gallant  dash  at  Valencia  d'  Alcantara,  and  Burgoyne  s  Light  Horse 
was  the  favored  regiment  that  George  the  Third  loved  often  to 
review.  He  was  a  brave  officer,  a  good  colonel,  and  a  moderate 
general.  It  is  useless  to  extol  him  greatly  as  a  commander.  He 
did  three  things  that  are  not  done  by  great  commanders.  He 
needlessly  undei-rated  his  enemy,  he  lost  his  best  opportunity,  and, 
in  the  last  resort,  he  declined  the  responsibility  which  would  have 

*Lord  Howe  proposed  to  open  the  campuitju  of  the  Southern  army,  with 
35,000  men  in  three  army  corps  ;  one  to  cover  New  Jersey  ;  one  to  act  on  the  side 
of  Rhode  Island  with  a  view  to  reducing  Boston  ;  the  third  to  move  up  the  North 
River  to  Albany  and  there  join  the  army  of  the  North. 

+  Fonblanque's  Political  and  Military  Episodes,  pp.  484  and  487. 

Jib.  p.  236. 


74  Sennington    Centennial. 

abandoned  an  expedition  and  saved  an  army.  Give  him  credit  for 
a  good  plan.  Another  man  should  have  executed  the  plan.  That 
man  was  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  his  last  year's  commander,  and  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Canada.  He  knew  the  country,  understood  the  people, 
and  controlled  the  preparations.  Cautious  as  well  as  peaceful,  he 
was  all  the  more  formidable  because  he  was  wise,  conciliatory  and 
humane. 

But  in  the  high  councils  of  heaven,  and  the  small  arithmetic  of 
King  George,  it  was  ordered  otherwise.  Burgoyne  was  followed 
by  the  sanguine  hopes  of  the  British  nation.  Lord  North  looked 
for  the  "  speedy  quelling  of  the  i-ebellion."  Trading  Manchester 
had  subscribed  for  two  regiments  to  conquer  a  market.  The  coun- 
try gentlemen  were  loudly  loyal.  The  opposition  in  the  Commons 
was  well-nigh  silenced.  Bishops  and  clergy  breathed  out  war ;  the 
staid  pulpits  of  the  Establishment  rung  with  exhortations  to  smite 
the  rebels,  and  even  the  heart  of  the  humane  king  became  ossified 
till  he  could  say,  "  Every  means  of  distressing  America  must  meet 
with  my  concurrence." 

Burgoyne  was  in  Montreal  a  full  month  before  he  applied  for 
means  of  transport,  and  the  inadequacy  of  his  supply  at  last  was 
a  chief  cause  of  his  disaster.  His  body  of  troops,  though  smaller 
than  he  asked,  was  a  splendid  army  corps.*  The  German  soldiers 
had  learned  war  when  Frederick  was  at  his  best,  and  the  British  were 
"  veteran  ti'oops  of  England."  A  magnificent  park  of  artillery, 
and  a  body  of  picked  cannoniers  accompanied  the  march.  The 
officers,  Phillips  and  Riedesel,  Frazer  and  Hamilton,  Kiugston,  Bal- 
oarras  and-Ackland  were  men  of  brilliant  and  various  distinction. 
For  an  army  of  its  size,  no  finer  body  could  have  been  set  down 
on  this  continent. 


*  Burgoyne  had  asked  for  8,000  regular  troops  exclusive  of  artillery,  2,000  Cana- 
dians to  act  as  escorts  and  working  parties,  and  1,000  Indians,  besides  a  large 
number  of  provincials  for  transport  duties.  He  reports  his  actual  force  at  7,251 
regulars,  148  Canadian  militia,  and  503  Indians.  This,  however,  is  exclusive  ot 
511  artillerymen,  and  the  accession  of  tories  from  the  states.  But  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  nearly  1,000  men  to  garrison  Tlconderoga,  greatly  to  hia  regret.  He  thought 
that  Carleton  should  have  furnished  the  garrison,  and  afterward  complained  that 
it  "  drained  the  life-blood  of  his  force." 


JBennington  BattU  Day.  75 

The  general  knew,  or  ought  to  have  known,  his  foe.  He  was  in 
Boston  when  the  British  army  was,  as  he  expressed  it  "  unrecovered 
from  the  consternation  of  Lexington."  He  had  directed  the  firing 
of  the  batteries  against  Bunker  Hill,  and  had  handsomely  com- 
mended the  obstinate  defense  and  the  orderly  retreat.  He  there- 
fore only  inposed  on  himself  when  he  proclaimed  to  his  army  that 
the  enemy  were  "  infinitely  inferior  to  the  king's  troops  in  open 
space  and  hardy  combat."  The  event  made  it  even  ludicrous  in 
him  to  announce  that  they  relied  only  on  "  entrenchments  and  rifle 
pieces,"  and  "  it  will  be  our  glory  and  preservation  to  storm."  And 
it  was  a  still  graver  folly  to  threaten  that  enemy  with  "  devastation, 
tamine  and  every  concomitant  horroi'."  For  he  only  exasperated 
when  he  sought  to  terrify.  Had  he  had  the  "  thousands  "  of  Indi- 
ans of  whom  he  boasted,  to  do  this  work,  instead  of  his  paltry  five 
hundred,  he  spoke  to  men  who  had  heard  a  louder  war-whoop  than 
his.  They  turned  his  flaming  proclamation  into  doggerel  rhyme, 
and  called  him  "  chrononhotonthologos." 

Yet  there  were  anxious  hearts  as  he  moved  towards  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  Men  called  Ticonderoga  the  "  key  of  North  America." 
Schuyler  had  written  to  New  Hampshire  that  "  the  loss  of  it  would 
be  dreadful,  if  not  altogether  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  the  country." 
Washington  said  that  the  consequences  would  be  "  irreparable." 
Meanwhile  the  public  mind  was  feverish  with  excitement,  and  the 
air  thick  with  alarms.  The  enemy  had  entered  Newport,  headed 
for  Providence.  They  had  landed  at  Faii-field.  They  had  destroyed 
Danbury.  They  were  expected  at  Rye.  Eighteen  ships  were  seen 
above  Peekskill.  Carleton's  boats  were  said  to  be  at  Split  Rock, 
forty  miles  from  Ticonderoga.  A  cry  is  raised  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut  of  a  "  diabolical  attempt''  by  the  enemy  to  spread 
counterfeit  money.  Entrenching  tools  are  found  under  a  barn  in 
Hollis,  and  fire  arms  at  Groton.  Half  the  men  of  Straflfbrd  have 
joined  the  regulars.  "  The  tories,"  wrote  Sullivan,  "  are  every- 
where lifting  their  heads."  Secret  combinations  are  discovered  in 
Hillsborough,  in  western  Massachusetts  and  northern  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  New  Hampshire  Committee  of  Safety  recommend  to  all 
persons  capable  of  bearing  arms,  constantly  to   carry  them  "  to 


76  Bennington   Centennial. 

public  worship  and  all  places  where  business  leads  them  ;  for  we- 
know  not  the  day  nor  the  hour  "  of  an  attack  on  the  borders,  and 
we  must  **  stop  those  infernal  traitors  among  ourselves." 

But  where  get  the  arms  ?  The  same  committee,  two  days  later^ 
informed  their  congressmen  that  a  great  number  of  their  militia  are 
without  firearms,  and  in  the  half-manned  fortress  of  Ticonderoga 
not  one  man  in  ten  has  a  bayonet. 

On  the  first  of  July  a  line  of  fifty  gunboats  and  two  frigates  hovfr 
in  sight  of  Ticonderoga,  stretching  across  the  lake  from  east  to 
west.  The  garrison  declared  themselves  ready  for  a  "  bloody  fray," 
and  Parson  Allen  was  willing  to  "  leave  this  body  of  his  a  corpse 
on  the  spot."  On  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day  they  were  amazed 
to  see  a  body  of  red-coats  planting  a  battery  on  Mount  Defiance, 
commanding  every  corner  of  their  fortress.  That  night  came  the 
order  to  evacuate.  It  was  received  in  the  fortress  literally  with 
curees  and  with  tears,  and  a  cry  of  execration  and  lament  swept 
through  the  country.  "Such  a  retreat,"  wrote  one  of  the  garrison,, 
"was  never  heard  of  since  the  creation  of  the  world."  Men  talked 
of  treachery.  *'  We  never  shall  hold  a  fort,"  said  stout  John  Ad- 
ams, "  till  we  shoot  a  general."  Burgoyne  wrote  home,  •'  The 
rebels  have  no  men  of  military  science."  King  George  rushed  into 
the  Queen's  apartments  shouting,  "  I  have  beat  them,  I  have 
beaten  all  the  Americans,"  and  he  talked  of  the  Red  Ribbon  of 
Bath  for  his  general.  But  they  were  all  mistaken.  The  rebels  had 
men  of  science.  Col.  John  Trumbull  had  proved  on  the  spot  the 
year  before,  that  this  very  thing  could  happen.  Schuyler  and  St. 
Clair  were  no  traitors.  They  only  blundered.  It  was  a  grave  error 
in  Schuyler  to  accumulate  such  precious  stores  and  priceless  arras 
for  capture  and  destruction,  in  an  ill  planned  and  half-defended  for- 
tress. It  was  a  most  lame  and  impotent  conclusion  for  St.  Clair  to 
boast,  "  It  the  enemy  comes  hither,  he  will  go  back  faster  than  he 
came,"  and  within  one  week  to  steal  away  by  night. 

The  news  of  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga  fell  on  this  whole  region 
like  the  bursting  of  a  waterspout.  For  miles  along  the  lake  and 
up  the  Otter  Creek,  the  settlers  claimed  British  protection  or  fled 
from  their  homes.     The  inhabitants  of  Albany  ran  about  the  streets 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  77 

in  terror.  Williamstown  and  Stockbridge  were  crowded  with  fugi- 
tives. The  New  Hampshire  towns  along  the  Connecticut,  from 
Walpole  to  Haverill,  were  sending  off  messages  of  alarm.  Beza 
Woodward  wrote  from  Hanover  at  midnight,  "  For  God's  sake, 
come  without  delay." 

But  George  had  not  beaten  all  the  Americans,  and  Burgoyne  did 
not  earn  the  Red  Ribbon.  There  were  then,  on  these  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  in  the  cautious  words  of  Congress,  "  those  called  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys,"  and  they  were  not  ready  to  resign  their  home- 
steads after  the  struggle  of  a  dozen  years.  And  that  song,  though 
unwritten  then,  was  singing  through  their  hearts : 

"  Here  halt  we  our  march  and  pitch  our  tent 
On  the  rugged  forest  ground, 
And  light  our  flres  with  the  branches  rent 
By  winds  from  the  birches  round. 
Wild  storms  have  torn  the  ancient  wood, 
But  a  wilder  is  at  hand, 
With  hail  of  iron  and  rain  of  blood, 
To  sweep  and  desolate  the  land." 

Down  in  Berkshire,  there  was  a  company  that  often  had  been 
disappointed  of  "  a  fight."  Over  in  New  Hampshire,  there  was  a 
gallant  body  of  men,  who  had  held  their  own  at  Bunker  Hill  till 
the  Very  last,  had  led  the  van  at  Trenton,  fought  at  Princeton,  were 
bound  for  Stillwater  and  Saratoga  and  Monmouth  and  Yorktown. 
There  was  a  man  whose  name  was  Seth  Warner,  calm,  clear-headed, 
resolute,  unflinching,  every  inch  a  soldier,  and  acquainted  with 
every  foot  of  this  ground.  There  was  also  a  man  whose  name  was 
John  Stark,  a  bora  and  bred  warrior,  a  man  of  genuine  military 
instinct  and  genius,  who  could  find  his  place,  and  hold  it  too,  ready, 
when  he  knew  he  was  right,  to  take  all  risks,  whether  it  were  the 
anger  of  Schuyler,  the  censure  of  Congress,  or  the  widowhood  of 
"Molly  Stark."  There  was  a  noted  tavern  in  this  town,  and  when 
there  were  gathered  there  Ira  Allen,  Thomas  Chittenden,  Jonas  Fay 
and  their  staunch  comrades,  there  was  one  catamount  on  the  sign-post 
and  twelve  catamounts  within.  There  was  another  Committee  of 
Safety  at  Exeter,  and,  while  it  contained  such  men  as  Meshech 


78  Bennington  Centennial. 

Weare,  Nicholas  Gilman  and  Josiah  Bartlett,  the  Republic  was  not 
lost.  "  We  can  repulse  them,"  wrote  Ira  Allen,  "  if  we  have  assist- 
ance." In  three  days  New  Hampshire  voted  that  assistance, — 
twenty-five  companies  of  Stark's  brigade.  It  was  then,  when  there 
was  no  money  in  the  treasury  and  no  light  ahead,  that  up  rose  John 
Langdon  in  his  place,  tendering  his  money,  his  merchandise,  his 
plate :  "  If  we  gain  our  independence,  I  shall  be  repaid  ;  if  not, 
what  matters  my  property." 

The  legislature  adjourned  on  Saturday.  All  that  night  and  the 
next  day  a  horseman  was  riding  from  Exeter  to  Concord.  Sunday 
afternoon  he  dismounted  at  the  church  door,  and  walked  up  the 
aisle.  The  minister  stopped  and  said,  "  Captain  Hutchins,  are  you 
the  bearer  of  a  message  V  "  Yes,  Burgoyne  is  on  his  march  to 
Albany.  Stark  will  command  the  New  Hampsliire  men,  and  if  we 
all  turn  out,  we  can  cut  him  off."  "  My  hearers,"  said  the  Rev. 
Timothy  Walker,  **  you  who  are  ready  to  go,  better  leave  at  once."^ 
All  the  men  left  the  house.  But  Phinehas  Virgin  had  no  shoes. 
"  You  shall  have  a  pair,"  said  Samuel  Thompson,  the  shoe- 
maker, "  before  to-morrow  morning."  Next  day  those  shoes  were 
marching. 

While  Warner  was  sending  off  his  messengers  on  "  fresh  horses"" 
to  call  in  the  militia  and  alarm  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont,  and 
Herrick  was  raising  his  Rangers,  all  New  Harapshii-e  was  in  a  whirl ;. 
officers  hastening  to  Charlestown  to  halt  the  retreating  troops  ;  sol- 
diere  just  home  retracing  their  steps  ;  new  enlistments ;  minutfr 
men,  even  of  the  alarm  list,  summoned  to  be  ready.  I  hold  in  my 
hand  a  venerable  paper,  dated  "East  Kingston,  August  4th,  1777/* 
and  reading  thus  :  "  We,  the  subscribers,  do  severally  enlist  our- 
selves or  ingage  to  stand  in  readiness  at  a  minute's  warning,  equipt 
according  to  law,  with  six  days'  provision,  ready  to  march  wherever 
called  for  in  the  New  England  States,  to  which  we  promise  obedi- 
ence to  our  oflficers.  We  ingage  to  stand  ready  till  the  24th  day  of 
September  next.     Enoch  Chase,"  and  thirteen  others. 

Stark's  name  was  a  tower  of  strength  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
his  oflScers  and  men  were,  in  great  measure,  select  citizens,  owners 
of  the  soil,  good  men  and  true.     The  brigade  chaplain,  Hibbard 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  79 

was  a  graduate  in  the  second  class  of  Dartmouth  College.  A  future 
Governor  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  state,  Jeremiah  Smith,  had  his  gun- 
stock  broken  and  his  face  grazed  by  a  musket  ball  at  Bennington. 
The  membere  of  the  several  companies  were  neighbors,  friends  and 
relatives.  From  the  little  town  of  Salisbury,  New  Hampshire,  with 
only  one  hundred  and  nine  ratable  polls,  forty-two  were  in  the  con- 
flict. Their  captain  was  the  father  of  Daniel  Webster.  Among 
them  were  Edward  Evans,  the  schoolmaster,  deacon  Benjamin 
Hun  toon,  representative  Matthew  Pettengill,  selectman  Andrew 
Pettengill,  and  others  of  the  same  quality.  This  one  family  of 
Pettengill  sent  to  the  bMttle  three  brothers  and  their  sister's  hus- 
band ;  they  were  the  brothers  and  brother-in-law  of  my  great 
grandfather.  One  of  them  died  of  his  wounds.  So,  in  Vermont, 
five  sons  of  Jonas  Fay  were  there — one  of  them  slain.  Massachu- 
setts sent  lawyere,  physicians,  a  judge  and  a  fighting  parson.  li 
was  the  best  blood  of  these  states  that  flowed  here. 

While  this  commotion  was  fermenting  in  the  states,  Burgoyne 
was  happy  and  easy.  He  was  ordering  a  feu  de  joie  in  honor  of 
his  victory,  on  the  very  day  on  which  Schuyler  was  declining  to 
furnish  a  soldier  or  a  musket  to  defend  Vermont.  Instead  of  push- 
ing on  by  Lake  George  and  the  old  road,  he  halted  at  Whitehall, 
while  his  troops  cut  their  way  through  a  dense  forest,  made  forty 
bridges  in  sixteen  miles,  and  two  miles  of  log  work  over  one 
morass.  It  may  have  been,  as  he  claimed,  his  best  course.  But 
his  need  of  supplies  became  early  apparent,  and  about  the  first  of 
August  troops  were  all  designated  for  Baum's  expedition.  They  did 
not  march  until  the  twelfth.  Those  ten  or  twelve  days*  delay  lost 
his  only  chance  of  success. 

For  the  other  John  never  loitered.  Five  days  after  he  was  noti- 
fied of  his  appointment,  he  appeared  in  Charlestown.  In  advance 
of  his  instructions  he  was  forwarding  troops  to  Vermont,  watching 
the  enemy,  and  looking  up  his  supplies.  It  would  be  amusing, 
were  it  not  distressing,  to  read  of  his  difficulties ;  "  detained  for 
want  of  bullet  moulds,  as  there  is  but  one  pair  in  town  ;"  vainly 
endeavoring  to  get  four  cannon  mounted ;  finding  a  third  of  the 
powder  in  store  worthless  ;  in  want  of  kettles  and  ♦*  gpirita,"  and 


80  Bennington  Centennial. 

even  "  sealing  wax  and  paper."  But  he  makes  no  apologies  nor 
complaints,  utters  no  doubts  nor  fears.  As  fast  as  his  men  come  in 
by  squads,  he  sends  them  along.  Just  as  soon  as  the  bullets  were 
run,  Stark  and  his  bullets  went  off  at  the  enemy.  He  comes  in 
sight  at  Manchester,  receiving  orders  to  join  Schuyler,  and  flatly 
refusing  to  abandon  Vermont.  By  two  felicitous  mistakes,  one 
when  Congress  superseded  him,  and  one  when  New  Hampshire 
gave  him  an  independent  command,  he  was  free  to  follow  his  own 
sagacity.  He  chose  the  course  for  which  Washington  had  hoped 
the  enemy  would  give  opportunity,  and  he  fulfilled  his  own  proph- 
ecy of  the  former  year,  that  "^  a  powerful  army  would  come  from 
the  north,  which  he  with  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  would  out  off 
wing  by  wing."* 

When  all  this  stir  around  the  Connecticut  had  reached  its  height, 
things  were  beginning  to  move  on  the  Hudson,  like  the  opening  of 
some  tragic  romance.  The  British  general  had  bored  his  way  dog- 
gedly through  forest  and  swamp  and  creek.  He  looked  anxiously 
down  the  river  for  some  trace  of  Howe,  but  no  tidings  came.  Ten 
messengers  had  gone  by  different  routes,  but  never  one  had  gone 
through.  Even  the  despatch  sent  by  him  to  Clinton  in  a  silver 
bullet  from  Stillwater,  though  swallowed  by  the  beai-er,  was  recov- 
ered by  an  emetic,  and  the  messenger  hanged  as  a  spy.  One  only 
message  from  Howe  ever  found  its  way  to  Burgoyne,  packed  in  a 
quill,  but  it  came  too  late  and  brought  no  hope.  On  the  very  day 
(July  30th),  when  he  was  writing  "I  am  in  total  ignorance  of 
the  situation  or  intentions  of  General  Howe,"  Washington  was 
writing  thus :  "  Howe's  in  a  manner  abandoning  Burgoyne  is  so 
unaccountable  a  matter,  that  till  I  am  fully  assured  of  it,  I  cannot 
help  casting  my  eyes  continually  behind  me."  Why  it  was,  remained 
a  standing  puzzle  in  America  and  Great  Britain. 

But  Charles  Lee  knew  why.  When  Burgoyne  sailed  for  Eng- 
land, Lee  was,  by  his  own  folly,  a  prisoner.  Blustering  and  cow- 
ardly, ill-mannered  and  profane,  boastful,  ambitious  and  disappointed, 
on  the  29th  of  March  he  laid  before  Howe  an   elaborate  plan, 


♦  Ira  Allen's  History  of  Vermont  (Vt.  Historical  Collections,  I,  p.  386). 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  81 

whereby,  he  would  "stake  his  life,"  the  rebellion  could  be  crushed 
Ih  two  months.  It  was  to  be  a  grand  movement  on  Pennsylrania 
and  the  South,  accompanied  by  a  proclamation  of  amnesty.  For- 
tunately for  the  country  it  was  followed  but  partially  and  tardily. 
While  the  southern  expedition  was  a  failure,  it  abandoned  the 
northern  to  its  fate.* 

It  would  seem  from  Burgoyne's  precautions  and  delay  that  he 
shrunk  from  the  expedition  to  Bennington.  But  he  was  nearly  out 
of  provisions.  He  "  knew  that  here  was  the  great  deposit  of  corn, 
flour  and  cattle,  guarded  only  by  militia."  Necessity  knew  no  law. 
So  he  chose  "  the  best "  of  his  German  troops,  and  "  the  select  light 
<;orps  of  the  British  ai'my,"  and  sent  them  on  their  perilous  ven- 
ture. And  with  a  strangely  gratuitous  folly,  he  added  to  the  seiz- 
ure of  supplies,  a  long  circuit  by  Rockingham  and  Brattleboro 
round  to  Albany  It  is  supposed,  however,  by  some,  that  the  written 
orders  were  greatly  modified  by  oral  instructions. 

Why  repeat  an  oft  told  tale, — of  the  message  to  Stark  that  the 
Indians  were  at  Cambridge,  and  to  Baum  that  the  rebels  were  at 
Bennington ;  of  that*last  letter  of  the  Hessian  to  his  general,  "  wrote 
on  the  head  of  a  barrel,"  promising  to  fall  on  the  enemy  early  to-mor- 
row ;  of  Gregg  slowly  falling  back  as  Baum  advanced,  and  breaking 
•down  the  bridge  at  Sancoick ;  of  Stark  advancing  to  his  support,  and 
and  in  vain  offering  |battle  ;  of  Baum  and  his  boldest  men  thor- 
oughly startled  at  last  by  the  coolness  and  confidence  of  their  foe ; 
of  that  fifteenth  of  August,  stormy  with  "  a  hurricane  of  wind* 
and  "  an  absolute  torrent  of  rain ;"  of  Baum's  men  toiling  all  day 
long  in  the  merciless  storm  at  their  entrenchments,  as  men  toil  for 
their  lives.     There  was  little  sleep  that  night  in  the  British  camp. 

Through   that  pouring   rain   also   came  the  Berkshire  militia, 
drenched  to  the*skin,  but  with  their  powder  dry,  and  their  hearts 


*  See  "  The  Treason  of  Charles  Lee,"  by  ©oerge  H.  Moore.  Bancroft  doubts  that 
Lee's  letter  had  any  eflfect  on  Howe.  His  reasons  seem  hardly  conclusive.  It  is 
certain  that  the  letter  was  in  Howe's  hands  before  his  plan  of  campaign  appear* 
to  have  been  changed.  And  it  is  certain  that  Howe's  failure  to  move  northward 
"  confounded"  the  British  ministers  and  defeated  their  plans.  So  testifies  HoracA 
Walpole  repeatedly. 
6 


82  Bennington  Centennial. 

all  hot.  They  had  dropped  the  sickle  for  the  musket.  In  their 
procession  rode  Rev.  Thomas  Allen  in  his  old  sulky,  now  become  a 
chariot  of  war.  Warner's  troops  and  a  hundred  New  Hampshire 
men  were  hastening  up  under  Emerson  to  complete  the  victory^ 
while  Warner  himself  was  with  Stark  as  his  counsellor  and  right 
hand  man. 

The  morning  of  the  sixteenth  opened  in  absolute  beauty.     Not 
a  cloud.     Not  a  stirring  leaf.     Raindrops  glittered  "  like  diamonds  '*" 
in  the  trees.     The  river  alone   seemed   alive,  as  it  rolled  along 
"  swollen  and  tumultuous."    The  German  officer  never  forgot  that 
beautiful  scene.     For  hours  not  an  enemy  had  been  seen  nor  a  sound 
of  alarm  had  been  heard.     All  was  so   peaceful  that  the  leaders 
grew  confident,  and  breakfast  was  ordered,  preparatory  to  action^ 
But  it  was  the  hush  of  the  crouching  catamount.     Scarcely  were 
the  haversacks  unslung  and  the  muskets  piled,  when  the  men  were 
called  in  all  haste  to  their  ranks.     The  same  officer,  Glich,  looking 
out  from  his  zig-zag  breastwork  on  the  hill,  to  his  amazement  saw 
the  pickets  retiring,  the  outposts  withdrawing,  and  a  strange  body 
of  men  emerging  from  the  thicket  behind.     He  watched  in  alarm 
as  they  marched  and  countermarched  conspicuously  in  sight.     Twa 
of  their  officers  rode  forth  to  reconnoitre  ;  and  as  the  British  can- 
nonier  fired  his  harmless  shot  he  did  not  know  that  he  aimed  at 
Warner  and  Stark.     Suddenly  Glich  heard  a  trampling  behind  in 
the  forest  on  the  right.     It  was  Herrick  and  his  Rangers  in  their 
uniform  of  green.     Then  came  a  shout  and  a  rattling  fire  in  the 
rear  on  the  left.     It  was  Nichols  of  Amherst,  giving  the  signal  to 
begin.     From  before  sunrise  they  have  wound  in  single  file  through 
the  forest,  and  now  with  a  green  twig  in  every  hat  band,  they  come 
forth.     Scarcely  had  the  sound  of  the  first  tire  died  out  when  the 
Indians  broke  and  fled.     A  column  pushes  forward  on  the  tory 
breastwork  this  side  the  river.     It  is  Stickney  and  Hobart,  and  for  a 
badge  every  man  has  a  corn  husk  in  his  hat.     At  the  same  signal 
the  main  body  moved  up  in  front  and  the  battle  raged  on  every 
side.     The  tories  fled,  and  as  they  climbed  the  slippery  steep  behind 
them,  came  rolling  down  beneath  the  shots  of  our  marksmen.     For 
two  hours,  from  three  to  five  o'clock,  the  fire  was  one  continuous 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  83^ 

Toar.  Those  death-dealing  columns  closed  in  nearer  and  nearer. 
At  eight  paces  distance  they  picked  off  the  cannoniers  from  their 
guns.  Still  nearer  they  came  until  the  flashes  met.  The  ammuni- 
tion cart  exploded  within  the  entrenchments,  and  at  the  sound  our 
men  rushed  up,  scaled  the  breastworks,  and  leaped  down  within. 
Then  came  a  terrible  clashing  of  sword  and  gun-stock  and  bayonet. 
Gigantic  John  McNeil  strikes  down  lour  Hessians  with  the  butt  of 
his  gun.  In  five  minutes  twenty  men  broke  through  to  the  forest. 
The  rest  were  all  prisoners,  or  dead  or  dying.  They  fought  gal- 
lantly, and  their  leader  died  a  soldier's  death. 

The  work  was  done,  and  the  soldiers  dispersed  for  rest  and  for 
the  promised  plunder.  John  Calef  was  hunting  up  his  kettle  and 
saddle,  Samuel  Small  his  horse,  and  Parson  Allen  his  surgeon's  pan- 
niers with  the  bottles.  Stark  rallied  his  men  to  secure  the  victory. 
A  hogshead  of  rum  was  ordered  up.  Before  it  could  be  served  out, 
word  came  that  a  British  reinforcement  was  but  two  miles 
away.  The  wearied  troops  left  the  rum  untasted,  and  marched 
to  the  new  conflict.  Through  "  bottomless  roads,"  with  ill-fed 
horses  and  upsetting  wagons,  Breymann  had  crawled  along,  "  scarce 
half  a  mile  an  hour,"  but  in  season  to  meet  his  doom.  From  Sau- 
coick  Mill,  the  Tory  colonel,  Skene,  hurried  him  up,  but  never  a 
hint  did  he  give  that  Baum's  fate  was  sealed.  Half  a  mile  this  side 
the  mill,  he  saw,  through  the  woods,  armed  men  in  jackets  and 
shirt  sleeves, — for  the  day  was  intolerably  hot, — climbing  the  hill- 
side on  his  left.  A  call  to  them  from  Skene  was  answei'ed  by  a 
volley  of  musketry  from  the  birches  and  the  sumachs,  and  the  sec- 
ond battle  began.  A  battallion  of  chasseurs  moved  up  the  height 
and  two  cannon  poured  grapeshot  along  the  road.  But  the  shot 
struck  the  tree  tops,  and  our  men  from  behind  the  tree  trunks  fired 
down  into  the  full  ranks  with  deadly  aim.  But  at  length  wearied, 
oppressed  with  heat,  some  of  them  chewing  on  their  bullets  for 
thirst,  outnumbered  and  outflanked,  our  troops  were  slowly  falling 
back,  when  a  Major  on  a  black  horse  I'ode  up,  shouting,  "  Fight 
on,  reinforcements  close  by."  With  the  words  a  grape-shot  struck 
out  two  teeth  from  the  black  horse's  mouth,  but  the  rider 
spurred  on.     Behind  him  up  came  Warner's  fresh  troops.     They 


84  Bennington  Centennial. 

opened  right  and  left,  and  the  tide  of  battle  turned.  The  Tory, 
Skene,  sword  in  hand,  still  waved  on  the  artillery.  Bat  Thomas 
Mellen  dropped  his  own  musket,  too  hot  to  hold,  seized  a  dead 
Hessian's  gun,  and  down  came  the  Tory's  horse.  Skene  cut  the 
traces  of  an  ai-tillery  horse  and  disappeared.  The  jSght  was  long 
and  obstinate.  Many  of  the  Germans  on  their  knees  called  for 
quarter.  The  main  body  was  driven  back  and  their  cannon  cap- 
tui'ed.  The  pursuit  continued  until  eight  o'clock,  and  darkness 
alone  saved  the  remnant  of  Breymann's  force.  Our  troops  slept 
that  night  under  the  open  sky,  some  of  them  with  a  corn-hill  for  a 
pillow.  In  the  morning  they  woke  so  stiflf  they  could  scarcely  move. 
The  faces  of  Stark  and  of  Captain  Webster  are  said  to  have  been 
as  black  as  Indians,  after  the  battle.  But  those  swarthy  faces 
beamed  with  honest  juy  and  patriotic  pride;  and  as  the  news 
rolled  away  to  Lincoln  and  Schuyler  and  Washington,  to  the  Coun- 
cils of  Safety  in  New  Hampshire  arid  Vermont,  and  to  Congress  in 
session,  it  came  like  a  flash  of  bright  sunlight,  after  the  gloom  of 
an  Arctic  winter.  Stark  thought  he  had  paid  the  enemey  "a  proper 
compliment  lor  the  affair  at  Hubbardton."  Lincoln  called  it  "  a 
capital  blow."  "  A  gi-eat  stroke,"  said  Washington,  "  A  signal 
exploit,"  said  Massachusetts  and  Congi*ess. 

Yes  it  was  greater,  more  signal,  more  capital,  than  any  of  them 
then  knew.  The  numbei*s  engaged  were  not  great,  though  larger 
than  they  are  commonly  given.  The  whole  lorce  of  Baum  and 
Breymann  appears  to  have  not  been  far  from  1,500.*     Of  the  Amer- 

*The  numbers  on  both  sides  in  the  battle  of  Bennington  have  undoubtedly  been 
placed  too  low.  Burgoyne  saw  fit  to  repo  rt  Baum's  whole  force  at  "  about  500 
men."  (Canada  Appendix,  p.  xxii.)  But  he  gives  the  German  troops  at  200» 
whereas.it  is  known  from  returns  made  to  the  Duke  of  Brunswick  (fl.  B.  Daw. 
son's  Historical  Magazine,  p.  294),  that  they  amounted  to  374.  The  British,  Ame""- 
ican  and  Tory  prisoners  taken  amounted  to  230,  "without  reckoning  those  who 
were  killed  in  the  battle  and  many  who  escaped  by  flight."  "  There  can  be  little 
doubt,"  as  Gov.  Hall  well  remarks,  "  that  the  number  of  men  brought  into  action 
by  Baum  exceeded  700  besides  100  Indians."  Breymann's  reinforcement  consisted 
of  644  men,  according  to  the  German  returns.  (Dawson,  lb.  p.  804.)  This  corres- 
ponds with  the  public  statements  of  the  time. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  85 

ican  forces  there  are  no  complete  records.  We  only  know  from  the 
rolls  in  the  office  of  the  Adjutant  General  of  New  Hampshu-e,  that 
Stark's  brigade  consisted  of  exactly  1,523  officers  and  privates,  of 
whom  one  company  was  probably  at  Charlestown,  and  others  may 
have  been  unfit  for  duty.  The  diary  of  Capt.  Peter  Kimball  of 
Boscawen,  also  informs  us  that  the  spoil  was  divided  among  2,250 
men.  Of  these  not  less  than  two  thousand  must  have  been  present 
at  the  battle.  The  numbers  were  small.  But  it  was  a  great  thing 
for  raw  militia  to  meet  the  best  trained  soldiers  of  Europe,  greater 
yet  to  storm  their  entrenchments,  greatest  of  all  for  men  almost 

"  To  take  the  stores  and  cattle, 
That  we  had  gathered  then, 
Burgoyne  sent  a  detachment  r 

Of  fifteen  hundred  men." 

Gen.  Lincoln,  writing  from  Benuingtoti  on  the  I8th  of  Augast,  says :  "  The  num- 
ber the  enemy  had  in  the  field  cannot  be  ascertained,  perhaps  1,500."  This  state- 
ment, of  course,  rested  on  the  best  information  that  could  be  obtained  on  the  spot 
by  the  proper  authorities. 

Many  diverse  statements  have  been  made  concerning  the  American  forces.  Col. 
Carrington,  in  his  "  Battles  of  the  Revolution,"  (A.  D.  1876,  p.  332,)  gives  them  as 
I  do,  at  "  nearly  or  quite  two  thousand."  I  am  able  to  give  the  number  of  the 
New  Hampshire  troops  from  official  returns.  In  Ho  hart's  regiment  there  were 
five  companies,  as  follows:  Capt.  Walker's  company,  officers,  subalterns,  and 
privates,  60.  Webber's,  58.  Elliott's,  45.  Post's,  52.  Hendee's,  62.  Total,  219. 
In  Stickney's  regiment,  ten  companies,  viz. :  Webster's,  64.  Dearborn's,  82.  Tay- 
lor's 72.  McConnell's,  93.  Sias's,  48.  Bayley's,  55.  Kimball's,  69.  Clarke's,  54. 
Oilman's,  45.  Wilson's,  35.  Total,  617.  In  Nichols'  regiment,  ten  companies  • 
Runnels',  70.  Wright's,  61.  Ford's,  56.  Goss',  82.  Bradford's,  58.  Stone's,  68. 
Parker's,  71.  Carleton's,  62.  Mack's,  40.  Wilson's,  33.  Total,  601.  Add  to 
these  20  staff  officers,  and  the  entire  number  of  Stark's  brigade  was,  by  official 
authorithy,  1,523.  Of  these  one  company  was  left  by  Stark  at  Charlestown  to  guard 
the  stores,  and  two  companies  sent  to  the  heights  of  land  between  Charlestown  and 
Otter  Creek.  (See  Stark's  letter,  August  2,  1777.)  The  company  at  Charlestown 
unquestionably  remained  there,  but  the  other  two  companies  were  called  in  before 
the  battle,  as  it  appears  from  the  statement  of  Thomas  Mellen  of  Capt.  Clark's 
company,  that  he  was  sent  first  to  Manchester,  then  with  a  hundred  others  under 
Lieut.  Col.  Emerson,  down  the  valley  of  the  Otter  Creek ;  and  that  having  returned 
to  Manchester,  they  were  ordered  off  for  Bennington  "  late  in  the  afternoon  of 
rainy  Friday,"  arriving  next  day  in  time  to  join  in  the  battle.  Deducting  the  one 
company  left  at  Charlestown  would  leave  not  less  than  1,400  of  Stark's  men  at 
Bennington.    Stark  himself  says,  "  I  rallied  all  my  brigade."    This  statement  is 


86  Sennington  Centennial. 

destitute  of  bayonets  to  charge  and  destroy  a  body  armed  to  the 
teeth  behind  their  breastworks  and  cannon.  It  was  the  most 
remarkable  affair  of  the  war.  Is  there  a  more  brilliant  exploit 
recorded  in  the  annals  ef  warfare  ? 

It  was  a  "  signal  ex  ploit."  It  signified  what  the  Yankee  soldier 
could  do  when  he  fou  ght  for  his  home.  It  signified  what  a  Yankee 
Greneral  could  do,  backed  by  a  trusty  and  trusting  band  of  his 
neighbors  and  friends,  and  left  to  the  guidance  of  his  own  military 
genius.  It  signified  a  second  time  to  the  Bri  tish,  what  Lexington 
bad  told  them  before,  that  no  enemy  could  move  through  New  Eng- 
land, except  on  his  bier.  It  signified  to  the  Biitish  General,  what 
he  confessed  nine  weeks  later,  that  his  opinions  of  the  rebel  troops 
were  "  delusive.''     It  signified  to  the  Indians  that  it  was  time  to 

corroborated  by  a  letter  ot  Mesbech  Weare,  chairman  of  the  New  Hampshire  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  dated  August  4th,  which  says  :  "  I  was  informed  to-day  by  a  letter 
from  General  Stark  that  he  had  sent  off  from  Number  4  (Charlestown)  700  men  to 
join  Col.  Warner  at  Manchester,  and  that  he  should  follow  the  next  day  with 
800  more,  and  ^ad  ordered  the  remainder  to  follow  him  as  fast  as  they  came  into 
No.  4.  His  whole  brigade  will  be  together  in  a  few  days,  and  will  consist  of  at 
least  1,500  men."    These  authorities  would  seem  to  settle  the  question. 

The  lack  of  records  renders  it  more  difficult  to  get  at  the  facts  concerning  the 
Vermont  and  Massachusetts  troops.  Rev.  Joseph  "White  of  Williamstown,  Mass., 
late  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  thought  the  number  from  Massachu- 
setts to  be  not  more  than  150.    They  are  generally  given  at  140.    Professor  Perry 

f 
of  Williamstown  thinks  that  the  Massachusetts  troops  were  as    many  as  those  o* 

Vermont.  It  is  known,  however,  that  some  companies  which  started,  did  not 
arrive  in  season.  The  Vermont  troops  were  Herrick  's  Rangers,  some  militia  raised 
by  the  state,  of  which  there  were  two  companies  from  Ben  ningtou  and  vicinity, 
commanded  by  Capts.  Robinson  and  Dewey,  and  a  small  body  from  the  east  of  the 
Green  Mountains,  under  Capt.  Williams,  together  with  Warn  er's  regiment.  War- 
ner's regiment  is  stated  by  Silas  Walbridge,  who  belonged  to  it,  to  have  been 
reduced  to  less  than  150  at  Hubbardton,  and  is  given  in  the  Vermont  Historical 
Magazine  (quoted  by  Rev.  I.Jennings)  at  130.  The  roll  of  Robinson's  company 
of  militia,  and  the  only  document  extant,  shows  76  men.  If  Dewey  is  supposed 
to  have  as  many  men,  it  would  be  a  liberal  allowance.  Williams'  men  there  is  no 
account  of,  but  he  had  written  from  Manchester  to  Gen.  Stark  on  the  38th  of  Ju)y, 
saying:  "The  troops  under  my  command  are  constantly  returning  home,  and 

without  immediate  help  from  you  I  shall  be  destitute  of  any."    The  number  of 
Herrick's  rangers,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  is  unknown.    He  was  appointed  colonel, 
and  instructed  to  raise  the  force,  on  the  15th  of  July,  and  the  fund  to  support  them 

was  voted  on  the  28th.    Jonas  Fay  calls  them  (in  the  aTithentic  text,  Vt.  His.  Soc. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  87 

•abandon  the  British  service.  It  signified  to  the  insurgent  Tories 
that  they  better  depart  or  be  still.  It  signified  to  the  neighboring 
states  and  to  Congress  that  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  were  cer- 
tainly to  become  Vermont.  And  on  the  spirit  of  the  nation — the 
army  and  the  people — the  effect  was  magical.  Well  did  criers  pro- 
claim it  around  the  streets  of  Boston,  and  all  the  bells  ring  out  the 
victory. 

It  was  a  "  capital  exploit."  It  was  the  definite  beginning  of  the 
'distant,  but  now  certain  end.  Confessedly,  it  "  at  once  paralyzed 
Burgoyne's  operations."  It  rallied  in  flocks  the  forces  that  stopped 
him  at  Stillwater.  Bennington  meant  Saratoga,  too,  where  when 
Burgoyne  looked  northward,  John  Stark  lay  in  the  rear.  This 
cluster  of  events  determined  the  treaty  with  France,  and  thus 
furnished  openly  the  arms,  ammunition  and  aid  which  before  were 
given  only  in  secret.  It  astounded  the  ministry  into  "  conciliatory  " 
Bills,  too  soon  for  King  George  and  too  late  for  America.  It  prob- 
ably stimulated  Spain  into  its  war  with  Great  Britain,  encouraged 
the  disaffection  of  Ireland,  fostered  the  British  opposition  at  home, 
and  thus  embarrassed  the  Government.  It  hastened  hither  the  for- 
eign militai'y  skill  which  did  so  much  for  our  armies.  It  cooled  off 
the  hope  of  Canadian  and  Tory  help,  and  detached  the  last  band 
of  Indian  allies.  "  The  very  existence  of  the  infant  state  of  Ver- 
mont," wrote  Ira  Allen  long  afterward,  "  their  families  and  prop- 

•Col.,  p.  203,)  a  "  company  of  rangers  "  in  the  same  connection  in  which  he  speaks 
of  "  Stark's  brigade  and  parts  of  Symond's  regiment."  If  we  reckon  the  Vermont 
troops  at  live  hundred  and  those  of  Massachusetts  at  perhaps  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  it  would  give  a  total  corresponding  very  closely  with  the  statement  in  the 
diary  of  Capt.  Peter  Kimball,  Bo^cawen,  that  the  plunder  taken  at  Bennington 
was  divided  between  2,250  men.  Now  Stark's  1,523  and  Symond's  250,  with  500 
from  Vermont,  would  make  a  total  of  2,273— a  close  approximation.  Fully  coin- 
cident with  these  numbers  is  Baum's  statement  on  the  14th,  that  five  prisoners 
•«'  agree  that  from  1,500  to  1,800  men  were  at  Bennington  ;"  and  Glich's  statement : 
■*'  It  was  accurately  ascertained  that  not  fewer  than  1,800  men  were  at  Bennington." 
This  was  before  the  arrival  of  the  Berkshire  men  and  Warner's  regiment,  and 
apparently  one  hundred  of  Stark's  men  from  Manchester.  The  suggestions  made 
■concerning  the  troops  from  Vermont  and  Massachusetts,  arc  made  without  posi- 
tiveness.  All  statements,  as  I  understand  it,  must  be  conjectural.  The  figures 
concerning  the  New  Hampshire  men  are  from  official  returns,  and  are  anthentic. 


88  Bennington  Centennial. 

«rty,  were  all  pending  on  the  event."  We  might  almost  call  it  our 
Thermopylae,  only  that  our  Leonidas  and  most  of  his  troops  sur- 
vived to  strike  other  blows  for  their  country. 

It  is  a  singular  token  of  the  skill  of  our  marksmen,  and  the 
bewilderment  of  the  foe,  that  while  the  British  "  left  two  hundred 
and  seven  dead  on  the  spot,"  and  many  others  mortally  wounded, 
our  loss  was  but  thirty  killed,  and  about  forty  wounded.  Thirteen 
tories,  "  bui'ied  in  one  hole,"  mos  tly  shot  through  the  head  as  they 
looked  over  the  breastwork,  told  of  the  aim  of  the  New  Hampshire 
sharp  shooters,  and  the  bayonet  of  William  Clement,  that  never 
was  withdrawn  from  the  skull  of  another,  told  of  the  hand-to-hand 
conflict  that  closed  the  strife.  But  there  was  mourning  on  our 
side.  The  chief  havoc  was  in  the  regiment  of  Nichols,  which  gave 
the  signal  and  opened  the  fight  on  the  hill.  In  each  of  four  hon- 
ored homes  in  Bennington  there  were  orphans  and  a  widow.  Four 
New  Hampshire  officers  were  killed,  and  two  died  of  their  wounds- 
Ten  of  their  townsmen,  privates,  were  laid  with  them  in  the  grave. 
Chaplain  Hibbard  in  his  old  age,  remembered  well  that  "  burial 
service  "  as  the  most  mournful  occasion  of  his  life.  New  Hamp- 
shire sent  two  of  her  foremost  men,  Josiah  Bartlett  and  Stephen 
Peabody,  "to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  assist  the  sick  and 
wounded."  Let  the  names  of  those  dead  be  carved  here  on  a  mon- 
ument that  shall  be  coeval  with  this  state  and  this  nation,  and  while 
the  grass  grows  on  these  mountain  sides,  and  the  granite  rock  lies 
firm  and  solid  over  beyond  the  Connecticut,  let  the  name  of  Seth 
Warner  be  green  in  Vermont,  and  the  name  of  John  Stark  lie 
embedded  in  the  heart  of  New  Hampshire. 

Friends  and  fellow  citizens :  The  records  of  the  past  speak  to  us 
in  vain,  unless  they  speak  also  for  the  future.  Many  a  suggestive 
thought  clings  to  this  historic  spot.  And  first  of  all,  the  battle  field 
of  Bennington  is  as  commemorative  of  piety  as  of  bravery.  I  should 
be  false  to  the  truth  of  history,  did  I  fail  to  recognize  the  strong  reli- 
^ous  spirit  in  which  this  victory  had  its  preparation  and  achievement 
The  smoke  of  the  battlefield  mingled,  as  it  rose,  with  the  incense 
of  praj'er.  Each  of  the  three  states  that  shared  the  victory  had 
appointed  in  the  first  half  of  August  its  special  Fast  Day,  in  view  of 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  89 

the  approaching  conflict.  The  Berkshire  men  fired  no  shot  in  the 
battle  till  their  pastor  had  prayed  with  them  to  the  God  of  battles. 
Col.  Nichols  is  said  to  have  knelt  with  his  men  in  prayer  before  he 
led  them  to  the  onset.  McClary,  on  the  previous  Sabbath,  was 
exhorting  his  soldiers  to  remember  the  Lord's  Day,  and  the  bullet 
from  his  fatal  wound  and  the  bible  from  his  breast  pocket  were  long 
preserved  together  in  his  family.  All  day  long,  while  the  sound  of 
the  cannon  came  pealing  from  the  battlefield,  in  the  churches  of 
Bennington  and  Williamstown  the  voice  of  prayer  was  ascending, 
and  it  never  ceased  till  tidings  came  of  victory.  John  Stark  for- 
warded to  New  Hampshire  the  Hessian  equipments  as  trophies  of 
"  that  glorious  victory  given  them  by  the  Divine  being  who  over- 
powers and  rules  all  things."  The  men  that  achieved  our  deliver- 
ance here  feared  God,  and  they  feared  nothing  else. 

"  They  came  as  brave  men  ever  come, 

To  stand,  to  fight,  to  die  ; 
No  thought  of  fear  was  in  their  heart, 

No  quailing  in  the  eye  ; 
If  the  lip  faltered,  'twas  with  prayer, 

Amid  those  gathering  bands, 
For  the  sure  rifle  kept  its  poise 

In  strong,  untrembling  hands." 

This  consecrated  spot  speaks  to  us  also  a  lesson  of  fraternity. 
This  region  was  once  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  Bennmg- 
ton's  charter  transmits  the  name  of  Benning  Wentworth,  a  New 
Hampshire  Governor.  Nine-tenths  of  the  early  settlers  of  Ver- 
mont came  from  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island. 
The  troops  of  three  commonwealths  fought  in  noble  rivalry  and 
with  equal  courage  for  the  safety  of  these  homes  and  for  the  com- 
mon weal.  Their  dead  sleep  side  by  side.  And  as  I  look  over  the 
roster  of  those  regiments  I  read  the  Welsh  name  of  Evans,  the  Nor- 
wegian Peterson,  the  Scotch  Webster  and  Bohonnon.  The  names 
of  McGregor,  McClary,  Gregg,  Stark  and  their  companions, 
show  that  the  Scotch-Irish  furnished  some  of  the  best  fighting 
stock  of  America,  while  the  great  bulk  of  those  troops  were 
of  pure    Anglo-Saxon  blood.       So   was  it   on   the   broader  scale 


90  Bennington   Centennial. 

throughout  the  war.  The  name  of  Gen.  Sullivan's  ancestors 
was  O'SuUivan.  Lafayette  was  already  with  Washington. 
Koskiuzco  the  Pole  was  about  to  plan  the  entrenchments  at 
Saratoga,  and  his  countryman  Pulaski  was  now  a  volunteer  and 
a  prospective  martyr  for  American  liberty.  And  though  those 
German  troops  that  we  fought  on  yonder  heights,  had  been 
sold  like  sheep  in  the  shambles  and  fell  here  like  sheep  in  the 
slaughter,  we  may  not  forget  that  it  was  Germans  and  Dutchmen 
who  ten  days  before  had  defeated  St.  Leger  at  Oriskany,  and  that 
Herkimer  was  dying  of  bis  wounds  even  while  Stark  was  winning 
this  victory  ;  nor  may  we  forget  the  faithful  De  Kalb  already  in  our 
ranks,  and  Steuben,  who  made  our  fighters  into  soldiers,  and  our 
soldiers  into  an  army,  then  died  in  poverty  and  slept  in  a  long  for- 
gotten grave.  And  why  need  I  mention  the  names  of  Duportail, 
Gouvion,  Radiere,  Launoy,  Fleury,  and  the  Chevalier  Armand? 
"Out  of  twenty-nine  major  generals  in  our  Revolutionary  war, 
eleven  were  Europeans."  The  toil  and  blood  of  many  races  pur- 
chased our  land  of  rest  and  privilege.  To  many  races  let  it  be  a 
home  of  privilege  and  blessing.  Yea,  they  have  come,  Scandanivi- 
ans  and  Welsh  and  Irish  and  Scotch  and  Hebrews  and  Italians.  Six 
millions  of  Germans  are  gathered  voluntarily  on  the  soil  of  our 
country.  Here  let  them  flourish.  Five  millions  of  Africans,  here 
not  by  their  own  will,  toiled  and  suflfered,  but  not  on  the  battlefield, 
and  their  deliverance  too,  came  in  due  time.  A  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  Chinese  are  but  the  avant-couriers  of  millions  to  follow. 
Let  them  too  come  on  with  their  industry  and  economy.  The  free 
friction  of  our  free  institutions  shall  wear  off  from  them  at  length 
the  rust  of  ages,  and  stamp  them  with  the  superscription  of  this 
great  Republic.  Does  it  not  stand  written  in  the  Declaration  made 
by  this  new  State,  seven  months  before  the  battle,  that  "  the  inhab- 
itants that  may  hereafter  become  resident,  either  by  procreation  or 
by  emigration  within  said  territory,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same 
privileges  and  on  the  same  conditions"  as  "the  present  inhabitants " 
and  as  "  of  any  of  the  free  states  of  America  ?"  We  have  but  to 
be  true  to  those  civil  principles  for  which  the  Green  Mountain 
Boys  fought,  and  to  that  God  to  whom  Nichols   and  Allen  and 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  91 

McClary  prayed  before  they  fought,  and  then  shall  these  vast  bodies 
of  divei*se  elements,  enough  to  have  changed  the  character  of 
half  the  empires  of  Christendom,  be  assimilated  by  the  same  wonder- 
working power  as  heretofore  ;  and  that  Constitution  which  has 
been  foolishly  called  a  "  rope  of  sand,"  shall  continue  to  be  a 
wall  of  adamant  around  us  all. 

But  Bennington  teaches,  too,  that  the  foreigner  must  come  hither 
to  enjoy,  and  not  to  destroy,  our  institutions  ;  as  a  law-abiding  citi- 
zen, never  as  a  lawless  invader.  He  may  not  mistake  the  home  of 
freedom  for  a  land  of  license  ;  nor  think  thai  when  he  has  escaped 
the  terror  of  the  gens  d'arraes  abroad,  he  may  inaugurate  a  Reign 
of  Terror  here.  The  Communists  who  burned  down  the  Tuileries 
and  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  cannot,  under  the  name  of  Brotherhoods 
and  Unions  be  suffered  to  make  bonfires  of  our  railway  stations  and 
our  warehouses.  Hostile  bands  will  no  more  be  permitted  to  plun- 
der our  trains  of  merchandise,  than  formerly  to  sieze  the  stores  of 
Bennington.  And  if  Breymann,  with  the  best  troops  of  Europe, 
might  not  obstruct  this  great  highway  with  his  cannon,  still  less 
may  the  Flynns  and  Loshers  and  Zepps,  with  ruflBan  hands,  arrest 
the  movements  of  our  great  steam  thoroughfares,  and  paralyze 
the  whole  business  of  the  country.  The  strong  arm  of  the  nation 
must  teach  them  that  if  they  will  not  work,  neither  shall  they 
forcibly  arrest  the  honest  work  of  other  men.  No  mob,  though  it 
be  forty  thousand  strong,  shall  trample  on  the  laws  and  rights  of 
forty  millions.  And  one  grand  lesson  that  should  signalize  the 
opening  of  this  new  century,  is,  that  all  hostile  and  violent  demon- 
strations upon  peaceful  citizens  shall  be  as  thoroughly  and  as  sum- 
marily quelled  as  they  were  on  this  spot  one  century  ago.  When 
bands  of  men  patrol  our  streets  with  threats  in  their  mouths  and 
weapons  and  firebrands  in  their  hands,  it  is  war,  and  they  are  ene- 
mies. It  is  no  time  for  blank  cartridges  but  for  point-blank  shot. 
Next  after  the  riot  act  and  the  warning  to  disperse,  come  the  bay- 
onet and  the  bullet,  grapeshot  and  canister.  At  Pittsburgh,  three 
weeks  ago  last  Saturday  and  Sunday,  O  for  one  hour  of  Warner's 
regiment  and  Stark's  brigade !     It  would  have  cleared  the  way  from 


92  Bennington   Centennial. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco.*  And  here,  on  the  borders  of  that 
old  battle-field,  and  in  the  freshness  of  these  glorious  memories,  let 
these  noble  bands  ot  Green  Mountain  Boys,  who  have  passed  in 
eview  before  us  to-day,  lift  up  their  right  hands  to  Heaven  and 
swear  that  the  descendants  of  those  whom  the  best  soldiery  of 
Britain  and  Germany  could  not  expel  from  their  farms  and  their 
homes,  shall  never  be  driven  from  their  lawful  labors  for  an  hour 
by  the  floating  scum  of  Europe  or  America. 

But  we  are  reminded  here  that  some  old  enmities  are  dead  or 
dying.  Six  weeks  ago  I  searched  in  vain  on  that  Hessian  hill  for  a 
trace  of  those  entrenchments  which  once  blazed  with  hostile  fires. 
Long  silent  too  has  been 

"  The  drum  suspended  by  its  tattered  marge, 
That  rolled  and  rattled  to  the  Hessian's  charge." 

Even  so  four  years  ago  I  stood  in  the  old  home  ot  my  ancestors  in 
England,  whose  occupants  a  centuiy  ago  were  probably  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  Government  against  whom  my  American  progeni- 
tors were  contending  with  sword  and  musket ;  but  I  was  there  a 
welcome  guest.  And  but  just  now  in  the  palace  where  the 
demented  George  was  hardening  his  good-natured  heart  against 
our  country,  the  British  Queen  received  to  her  home  circle  our 
great  Captain  President,  while  the  whole  nation  strove  to  do  him 
honor.  Thank  God  that  British  hands  no  longer  strike  at  Anglo- 
Saxon  lives ;  that  English  blood  no  longer  drips  from  fratricidal 
wounds,  but  upon  both  sides  of  the  wide  Atlantic  flows  fresh  and 
strong  in  sympathetic  hearts.  We  celebrate  to-day  the  valor  that 
achieved  our  liberties,  without  a  thought  of  bitterness  towards 
those  from  whom  we  inherited  and  from  whom  we  wrested  them, 
— 'Very  Britons  from  very  Britons. 

And  let  us  also  rejoice  to-day  that  these  Centennial  commemora- 


*It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  occurred  the  series  of  riotous  proceed- 
ings along  our  Railways,  beginning  at  Pittsburg,  with  immense  destruction  of 
property  and  some  loss  of  life,  extending  to  Chicago  and  the  Far  West,  and  for  a 
time  arresting  travel  and  business  over  most  of  the  great  northern  Railway  linee. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  93 

tions  have  come  in  to  throw  the  vail  over  later  and  bloodier  wounds, 
— that  Concord  and  Bunker-Hill  and  Bennington  are  super-imposed 
upon  Antietam  and  Gettysburgh  and  the  Wilderness.     It  is  well 
that  by-gones  should  at  length  be  by-gones.     I  am  one  of  those 
who  thought  that  for  their  slaughter  of  a  million  lives  and  their 
assaults  upon  the  Nation's  life,  a  dozen  chief  criminals  should  have 
hung  between  the  heavens  and  the  earth.     But  it  was  not  so  done. 
Another  policy  pi-evailed.     This  mighty  nation,  of  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  could  pardon  and  yet  live.     The  cup  was  full  of  bitter- 
ness, but  we  drank  it  down,  and  now  we  may  throw  away  the 
dregs.     For,  southern  Soldiers  have  strewn  their  flowers  on  the 
graves  of  their  northern  conquerors,  and  the  southern  Governor  of 
South  Carolina  has  pledged  protection  to  the  liberated  slave.     As 
in  1777  the  tide  of  battle  turned,  so  in  1877  at  length  has  turned 
the  tide  of  peace.     This  year,  for  the  first  time  in  our  national  his- 
tory, the  work  of  our  earlier  and  our  later  great  wars  of  this  event- 
ful  century   is   accomplished.     We  dwell  at  last  in   "a  real  and 
homogeneous  union  of  free  commonwealths  into  one  harmonious 
Republic,  where  no  sovereign  state  is  pinned  to  its  fellows  by  fed- 
eral bayonets,"  and  no  fugitive  for  liberty  is  remanded  by  federal 
courts  to  his  chains  ;  but  American  citizens  are  every  where  free  to 
govern  themselves.     We  look  hopefully  down  the  broad  opening 
vista    of   peace,    progress  and   prosperity.      What  tongue  dares 
foreshadow  the  tale   which,  if  God   will,  shall   be   told  here  one 
hundred  years  hence  this  day  ? 

Ultima  Cumaei  venit  jam  carminis  cetas; 
Magnus  ab  integro  amclorum  nascitur  ordo. 

All  honor  to  the  brave  and  honest  Chief  Magistrate  who,  afler  a 
decade  of  fruitless  experiment  and  smouldering  strife,  had  the  good 
manhood  to  break  away  from  all  narrow  and  partisan  restraints, 
cast  himself  upon  the  sound  sense  and  Christian  sentiment  of  the 
American  people,  and  lead  oflf  this  new  order  of  the  centuries. 
And  let  the  East  and  the  West  and  the  North  and  the  South  say, 
Amen  !  and  Amen  ! 


94  Bennington  Centennial, 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT'S  ODE. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  oration  Professor  J.  W.  Churchill 
read  the  following  Ode,  prepared  for  the  occasion  by  "William 
Cullen  Bryant : 

On  this  fair  valley's  grassy  breast 
The  calm,  sweet  rays  of  summer  rest, 
And  dove-like  peace  benignly  broods 
On  its  smooth  lawns  and  solemn  woods. 

A  century  since,  in  flame  and  smoke, 
The  storm  of  battle  o'er  it  broke, 
And,  ere  the  invader  turned  and  fled, 
These  pleasant  fields  were  strewn  with  dead. 

Stark,  quick  to  act  and  bold  to  dare. 
And  Warner's  mountain  band  were  there, 
And  Allen,  who  had  flung  the  pen 
Aside  to  lead  the  Berkshire  men. 

With  fiery  onset — blow  on  blow — 
They  rushed  upon  the  embattled  foe 
And  swept  his  squadrons  from  the  vale, 
Like  leaves  before  the  autumn  gale. 

Oh  never  may  the  purple  stain 
Of  combat  blot  these  fields  again, 
Nor  this  fair  valley  ever  cease 
To  wear  the  placid  smile  of  peace. 

Yet  here,  beside  that  battle-field, 
We  plight  the  vow  that,  ere  we  yield 
The  rights  for  which  our  fathers  bled, 
Our  blood  shall  steep  the  ground  we  tread. 

And  men  will  hold  the  memory  dear 
Of  those  who  fought  for  freedom  here. 
And  guard  the  heritage  they  won 
While  their  green  hill-sides  feel  the  sun. 


Bennington  JBattle  Day.  95 

After  the  reading  of  the  Ode  the  following  hymn,  prepared 
by  Mrs.  Marie  Mason,  was  sung  : 

1.  One  hundred  years  !  a  nation's  joys 
Resound  along  the  prospered  way 
That  Stark  and  his  Green  Mountain  Boys 
Made  ours  one  hundred  years  to-day. 

6.  God  bless  the  standard  of  the  free! 
God  bless  this  peaceful,  happy  land. 
Our  fathers'  God  !  we  lift  to  Thee 
Our  praise  for  gifts  on  every  hand. 

8.  And  for  our  country's  honored  head, 
Our  reverent  lips  ask  this  alone : 
That  Thou  wilt  guide  his  feet  to  tread 
In  foot-prints  of  our  Washington. 

11.  Our  counselors  with  wisdom  fill ; 

Let  parties  die ;  let  factions  cease ; 
Let  all  men  seek  with  single  will 
Our  country's  unity  and  peace, 

12.  Then  not  in  vain  the  patriot  blood 

Was  poured  upon  the  crimsoned  clay 
Where  side  by  side  our  fathers  stood, 
One  hundred  years  ago  to-day. 

PRESIDENT  HAYES'  REMARKS. 

In  response  to  repeated  calls  President  Hayes  spoke  as 
follows : 

Ladies  and  Fellow  Citizens  : 

I  need  not  say  to  you  that  I  am  grateful  for  this  greeting.  I  am 
gi'eatly  obliged  to  those  who  had  charge  of  this  celebration  for 
their  courtesy  in  giving  me  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  with  them  the 
ceremonies  of  this  day.  I  am  quite  sure  none  of  us  will  ever  forget 
what  we  have  here  witnessed.  That  notable  event,  the  battle  of 
Bennington,  so  great  a  step  towards  national  independence — I  qm 


96  Bennington  Centennial. 

sure  we  feel  it  has  been  fitly  celebrated  to-day.  Only  think  of  the 
procession  that  we  beheld  an  hour  or  two  ago — citizen  soldiers — 
disciplined  soldiers  from  Vermont,  from  Connecticut,  trom  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  Hampshire.  But  more  touching  than  all  in  the 
long  procession  were  the  veterans  of  the  Union  army — survivors  of 
the  twelve  hundred  battles  that  saved  the  nation  and  made  liberty 
throughout  the  woi'ld  forever  possible.  And  what  eye  was  undim- 
med  as  we  saw  proudly  marching  with  his  comrades  that  maimed 
soldier  walking  with  his  crutch?  But,  my  friends,  I  must  not 
detain  you.  Among  the  pages  of  the  speech  to  which  we  have 
listened,  packed  full  as  each  page  was  with  interesting  matter  touch- 
ing that  great  event  of  one  hundred  years  ago,  no  one  page  in  it 
was  more  valuable  than  this  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  containing 
the  muster  roll  of  a  company  of  minute  men  who  fought  here  in 
the  cause  of  independence.  Is  there  not  some  merit,  under  existing 
circumstances,  in  my  also  becoming  a  minute  man  ? 

SECRETARY  EVARTS. 

Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United 
States,  being  called  for,  made  the  following  excuse  for  not 
speaking : 

Mr.  President  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  ; 

It  is  fair  that  I  should  warn  you  that,  though  I  am  very  slow  to 
begin  a  speech,  I  am  much  slower  to  end  it,  and  I  know  your  only 
safety  is  in  my  retiring  before  I  commence. 

POSTMASTER  GENERAL  KEY. 

Hon.  David  M.  Key,  Postmaster  General  of  the  United 
States,  in  response  to  calls,  spoke  as  follow : 

My  2<riends : 

This  call  is  grateful  to  me.  I  do  not  accept  it  as  a  personal  com- 
pliment, but  as  an  indication  of  fraternal  feeling  on  the  part  of  our 
northern  fi-iends  to  their  erring  southern  brethren. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  97 

ATTORNEY  GENERAL  DEVENS'  SPEECH. 

Hon.  Charles  DevenS;  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
tstates,  was  then  called  for,  and  responded  as  follows  : 

It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  maxims  of  the  Chinese  philosopher, 
<!/onfucius  (I  have  never  read  him),  "  Let  your  speech  be  short  that 
the  remembrance  thereof  may  be  long."  I  will,  therefore,  follow 
the  example  of  the  gentleman  who  has  preceded  rae,  and  will  detain 
you  but  a  few  moments  to  tell  a  brief  anecdote  which  has  some 
-connection  with  the  celebration  of  to-day — a  story  with  a  moral. 
Perhaps  I  had  better  tell  the  moral  first,  for  I  know  that  in  reading 
-^sop  we  used  to  skip  the  moral.  It  is  simply  this :  That  in  the  cause 
of  i^atriotism,  however  weak  we  may  be,  we  may  all  do  something. 
And  the  story  is  this :  Although  loath  to  confess  it  in  the  presence 
of  so  many  ladies,  it  is  something  more  than  thirty  years  ago  that 
I,  a  young  lawyer,  was  invited  to  deliver  an  oration  on  the  Fourth 
of  July  before  my  tellow  citizens  of  the  state  ol  Vermont  at  Brat- 
tleboro.  There  were  still  left  at  that  time  a  few  of  the  survivors 
of  the  Revolutiouaiy  army.  Three  or  four  were  waiting  in  a  room 
of  the  hotel,  where  I  was  with  them,  my  oration  simmering  inside 
of  me,  and  a  good  deal  embarrassed,  as  I  am  now, — a  constitutional 
bashfulness  I  shall  never  get  over.  There  came  in  to  these  three 
or  four  old  gentlemen  one  somewhat  younger  than  they,  but  still 
considerably  over  seventy.  "  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  am  not  a 
revolutionary  soldier,  but  I  should  like  to  ride  with  the  revolu- 
tionary soldiers  to-day.  I  would  like  to  explain  my  claim  to  do  so, 
and  then  have  you  decide  it."  He  was  an  easy,  cheery,  hearty  old 
man,  and  of  course  the  others  readily  gave  him  permission.  He 
went  on  to  say  that  when  he  was  a  boy,  about  nine  years  old,  his 
father  kept  a  ferry  somewhere  on  the  Connecticut, — at  Putney  or 
Dummerston,  I  think, — just  above  Brattleboro.  "  There  came  to 
the  ferry  to  cross  one  day,"  said  he,  "  while  my  father  was  away 
and  I  was  at  home  alone,  two  men,  one  of  whom  seemed  of  supe- 
rior rank  to  the  other.  They  were  soldiers  evidently,  though  there 
was  little  uniform  among  men  in  those  days.  They  wished  to 
•cross  the  river ;  said  they  must  cross.  I  replied  that  I  was  only  a 
boy  and  could  not  run  the  boat  alone,  and  that  even  if  they  should 
7 


98  Bennington   Centennial. 

assist  me  over  I  could  not  get  back.  They  said  they  would  help 
me  to  cross,  and  some  of  the  neighbors  would  help  me  back.  I 
undertook  it,  and  when  we  had  crossed  I  said  to  the  superior  gen- 
tleman, when  my  father  comes  home  I  wish  to  be  able  to  tell  him 
who  it  was  I  carried  across  the  feny.  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  you  may 
tell  him  it  was  General  Stark.'  Six  weeks  after  that  I  heard  of  the 
battle  of  Bennington.  And  now,"  said  he,  "  I  claim  to  be  the  boy 
who  carried  Gen.  Stark  across  the  Connecticut  River  on  his  way 
to  fight  the  battle  of  Bennington,  and  I  should  like  to  ride  with  the 
revolutionary  soldiers."  Of  course,  the  answer  was  that  they  all 
thought  him  a  good  enough  revolutionary  soldier  for  them, 
even  if  he  was  but  nine  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  battle. 

E.  W.  STOUGHTON. 

Hon.  E.  W.  Stoughton,  (since  United  States  Minister  to  Rus- 
sia,) was  called  for,  and  wittily  excused  himself,  as  follows  : 

I  am  not,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  a  member  of  the  president's 
cabinet,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  it  is  just  as  well  for  the 
country  that  my  advice  has  never  been  taken  about  anything. 

Hon.  George  W.  McCrary,  Secretary  of  War,  was  next 
called  for,  but  he  had  left  the  tent,  having  been  suddenly  sum- 
moned to  Washington.  General  Banks  and  others  were 
expected  to  speak,  and  were  called  for,  but  the  president  of  the 
day  stated  that  it  was  already  past  the  hour  for  the  dinner,  and 
they  did  not  respond. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  99 


THE  DINNER. 


At  the  conlnsion  of  the  exercises  in  the  tent,  the  multitude, 
preceded  by  the  president  and  officer  of  the  day,  the  orator, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  cabinet,  the  several 
governors  and  other  invited  guests — Mrs.  Hayes  being  escorted 
by  Gov.  Yan  Zandt  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Mrs.  Gqv.  Fair- 
banks by  President  Hayes — proceeded  to  the  banquet-hall,  where 
the  guests  sat  down  tc>  a  sumptuous  repast  spread  by  Dorling, 
the  Boston  caterer.  To  use  the  language  of  a  newspaper'  corres- 
pondent, this  was  an  elegant  affair,  the  tables  being  waited 
upon  by  Green  Mountain  Girls.  As  one  hundred  years  ago 
the  grandmothers  of  these  ladies  prepared  food  for  the  use  of 
the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  New  Hampshire  troops,  and  Berk- 
shire county  men  while  the  Bennington  battle  was  being  fought, 
so  now  in  time  of  peace,  on  this  centennial  occasion,  they  volun- 
teered to  wait  upon  the  distinguished  guests  of  the  state. 

Divine  blessing  was  invoked  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bartlett,  Pres- 
ident of  Dartmouth  College. 

After  the  dinner,  Hon.  Edward  J.  Phelps,  presiding,  pro- 
posed 

THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  PRESIDENT, 
In  these  words : 

Ztodies  and  Gentlemen  : 

You  will  all,  I  am  sure,  have  anticipated  the  first  sentiment, 
which  in  giving  direction  to  your  festivities  it  is  my  duty  and  my 
great  pleasure  to  offer  you.  We  are  honored  to-day  by  the  presence 
of  many  very  distinguished  guests.     Foremost  among  them  all  is  the 


100  Bennington   Centennial. 

chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States.  The  dignified  ofiice  he 
occupies  will  always  and  everywhere  be  honored  by  Americans, 
whoever  may  be  its  incumbent.  But  it  is  not  the  office  alone  that 
we  desire  now  to  honor.  I  should  do  injustice  to  your  feelings  as 
well  as  to  my  own,  if  I  failed  to  say  that  it  is  not  less  the  man  who 
80  admirably  tills  it ;  the  man  who  has  shown  us  that  he  means  to 
be  president  of  the  whole  country,  and  not  of  a  pai-t ;  the  man  who 
has  so  addressed  himself  to  the  high  and  critical  duties  of  that 
great  office,  that  he  has  not  merely  satisfied  the  promises  of  his 
friends,  but  has  disarmed  the  criticisms  and  hostility  of  his  enemies. 
I  give  you,  therefore,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  as  the  first  sentiment 
appropriate  to  this  occasion,  and  the  nearest  to  your  hearts,  not 
merely  the  health  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  but  the 
health  and  long  life  of  Rutherford  B.  Hates,  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  band  played  the  national  anthem. 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  RESPONSE. 

Mr.  JPresident,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

I  would  be  glad  fitly  to  thank  my  friends  of  Vermont  for  the 
kind  way  in  which  they  have  received  me.  But  I  am  not  in  the 
habit  of  making  after  dinner  speeches.  I  hope  therefore  to  be 
excused,  if  without  further  words  I  now  take  my  seat. 

TOAST  TO  THE  QUEEN. 

President  Phelps  then  said  : 

We  are  celebrating,  to-day,  the  anniversary  of  a  victory  over  the 
troops  of  Great  Britain.  But  we  can  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
more  than  sixty-five  years  that  peace  has  reigned  between  us  and 
the  mother  country — long  may  it  continue.  We  are  one  race,  and 
are  combined  by  the  closest  ties  ;  too  close  I  trust  ever  again  to  be 
severed.  I  am  happy  to  state  that  a  courteous  and  gratifying  cor- 
respondence has  taken  place  in  relation  to  this  celebration  between 
governor  Fairbanks  and  that  excellent  nobleman,  Lord  Duffciin, 
Governor  General  of  Canada,  who  was  invited  to  be  present  on 
this  occasion.     He  writes  to  say  that  if  it  were  not  that  his  duties 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  101 

called  him  to  the  West,  he  would  have  been  happy  to  have 
been  present,  and  would  doubtless  have  responded  appropriately  in 
his  official  capacity  to  the  sentiment  I  am  about  to  propose. 

Mr.  Phelps  then  read  a  letter  from  His  Excellency  Lord 
Dufferin,  excusing  himself  from  attendance. 

LORD  DUFFERIN'S  LETTER. 

Government  House,  "> 

Ottawa,  Can.,  July  26,  1877.  j 

To  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont  : 
Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  veiy 
courteous  communication  of  the  23d  inst.,  containing  an  invitation 
to  me  from  the  president  and  members  of  the  Bennington  Battle 
Monument  Association  to  be  their  guest  at  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion of  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  a  state,  and  the  battle  of 
Bennington.  But  for  my  approaching  visit  to  Manitoba,  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  your  Excellency  and 
the  association  of  which  you  are  the  president.  I  trust  that  you 
will  be  good  enough,  while  expressing  to  the  members  of  that 
association  my  extreme  regrets  at  being  unable  to  avail  myself  of 
their  very  kind  invitation,  to  wish  them  at  the  same  time  every 
success  in  their  centennial  celebration  of  the  15th  and  1 6th  of 
August  next.  With  regard  to  the  suggestion  that  in  the  event  of 
my  not  being  able  to  be  present  on  the  occasion  above  referred  to, 
some  other  persons  might  act  as  my  representative,  I  shall  have 
much  pleasure  in  consulting  my  Ministers  on  the  subject,  with  the 
view  of  complying  with  the  wishes  of  the  Bennington  Battle  Mon- 
ument Association. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  sei'vant, 

DUFFERIN. 

TOAST  TO  THE  QUEEN. 

Mr.  Phelps  continued  : 

We  should  not  be  mindful  of  the  true  proprieties  of  this  occasion, 
if  we  failed  to  remember  with  respect  that  illustrious  lady,  who 
through  so  many  years  of  blameless  life,  has  been  more  than  queen 


102  JBennington  Centennial. 

of  Great  Britain.  She  has  been  queen  in  all  the  virtues,  and  queen 
in  the  hearts  of  all  her  people.  I  give  you  then,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, the  health  of  her  most  gi'acious  majesty,  Victoria,  queen  of 
Great  Britain.     God  bless  her. 

The  band  then  played  the  English  national  anthem,  after 
which  Mr.  Phelps  called  upon  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  Sec- 
retary of  State,  and  said : 

The  profession  to  which  I  belong  and  in  which  he  has  achieved 
so  great  distinction,  has  only  lent  him  to  the  public  sei*vice,  and 
will  gladly  welcome  him  back  to  the  happier  walks  of  professional 
life,  when  he  can  be  spared  from  his  present  distinguished  duties. 
And  I  doubt  not  when  he  returas  to  us  he  will  be  ready  to  say  : 
"  Wherever  I  wander,  there's  no  place  like  home." 

SECRETARY  EV ARTS'  RESPONSE. 
Mr.  President : 

I  should  know  a  little  better  that  "there's  no  place  like  home," 
if  1  knew  a  little  more  exactly  where  my  home  is,  but  I  am  very 
glad  to  be  here  with  you  to  share  in  the  honoi*s  of  this  great  day. 
Since  I  have  been  here  I  have  looked  out  from  the  hospitable  mansion 
of  our  host,  Mr.  Tibbetts,  upon  the  town  of  Sunderland,  which  was 
my  father's  birthplace  ;  and  I  find  that  the  family  of  Fay  that  contrib- 
uted so  much  to  that  battle  and  shared  so  gi'eatly  in  its  glory  is  of 
the  same  blood  with  mjself.  If  I  could  find  myself  as  well  treated, 
and  enjoy  myself  wherever  I  travel  as  I  have  in  coming  to  Ben- 
nington, I  might  well  say,  wherever  I  may  be,  that  there  is  no 
place  like  home. 

And  now,  in  regard  to  the  majesty  of  England,  the  majesty  of 
that  nation  and  of  that  gi'acious  lady,  the  queen,  is  it  not  the  best 
token  of  the  gi'eat  and  christian  character  of  the  nation  and  of  her- 
self that  on  the  celebration  of  a  battle  fatal  to  the  power  of  her 
ancestry,  and  so  glorious  for  the  prosperity  of  this  country,  that 
we  should  receive  such  a  letter  from  the  governor  general  of  Can- 
ada, the  representative  of  the  British  crown?  It  is  fitting  that  we 
should  respond  at  our  festival  with  royal  homage,  with  the  martial 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  103 

and  loyal  airs  of  England.  Let  us  in  looking  back  upon  the  mother 
country,  yield  to  her  most  gracious  majesty  the  queen  our  homage 
to  her  as  a  woman  which  we  deny  to  a  queen.  I  believe,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, that  had  queen  Victoria  been  on  the  throne  instead  of  George 
the  Third,  or  if  we  had  postponed  our  rebellion  until  queen  Victo- 
ria reigned,  it  would  not  have  been  necessary,  and  if  there  had  been 
any  rebellion  at  all,  it  would  have  been  on  the  part  of  England. 
Now  this  battle  of  Bennington  was  important  as  part  of  the  great 
campaign  which  secured  American  freedom  and  independence. 
The  gieat  object  the  British  had  in  view  then  was  to  divide  the 
north  from  the  south,  and  if  that  had  been  done,  the  colonies  would 
not  have  been  divided  from  England.  And  let  us  understand  that 
what  the  courage  and  the  patriotism  of  northern  men  and  southern 
men  would  not  permit  to  be  done,  could  not  be  done  by  the  cunning 
of  the  British  cabinet  in  the  power  of  the  British  arms.  The  stress 
of  war  with  the  mother  country  in  1812  and  1816  only  bound  more 
closely  the  ties  between  north  and  south,  and  then  the  great  nation 
determined  before  this  structure  that  its  care  was  to  meet  the  respon- 
sibilities df  a  great  and  powerful  people  launched  out  on  the  second 
century  of  its  being.  It  should  be  tried  and  tested  as  the  workman 
does  his  work,  to  see  whether  that  Union  on  which  hostile  foes  could 
make  no  impression,  can  be  burst  asunder  by  the  energies  of  its 
own  people,  no  other  people  being  able  to  do  it.  And  let  me  say 
to  you,  as  the  engineer  and  architect  strains  the  structure  to  the 
utmost  pressure,  in  the  enhanced  energies  of  that  conflict,  the 
strength  of  the  American  union  is  proof  against  all  social,  foreign 
and  civil  strife.  Let  me  also  add  that  if  neither  political  nor  mili- 
tary power  can  burst  this  union,  neither  can  society.  It  is  the 
people  that  is  absolutely  free  now,  and  absolutely  equal  now.  It  is 
the  people  that  knows  its  rights,  and  that  will  protect  them  from  all 
invasion  of  the  hostile  foe  and  jealousy  of  hatred,  and  the  wrath  of 
this  people,  with  its  thunderbolts,  shall  strike  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  people.  Mr.  Evarts  closed  his  speech  by  refen-ing  to  the  fact 
that  had  been  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  American  people  by  a 
distinguished  writer  (Artemas  Ward),  who  had  declared  himself 
willing  to  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  his  country  all  his  wife's  relations, 


104  Bennington  Centennial. 

but  John  Stark  went  farther  than  that,  and  declared  himself  willing 
to  sacrifice  his  wife's  husband. 

INTRODUCING  GOVERNOR  PRESCOTT, 

Mr.  Phelps  said :  Many  states  have  sent  us  noble  representatives, 
such  as  we  shall  never  forget.  But  New  Hampshire  has  come  hersdf^ 
lust  as  she  did  a  hundi-ed  years  ago,  with  Gen.  Stark  at  her  head. 
Withoutherwe  should  have  made  a  poor  figure  then,  and  a  very  much 
diminished  figure  now.  She  feels,  as  she  has  a  right  to  teel,  that 
this  is  her  celebration  as  well  as  ours.  And  therefore  have  come 
the  concourse  of  her  people  :  that  tine  military  array  and  choice 
music  that  have  been  displayed  before  us  ;  those  eloquent  oratore 
who  have  addressed  you  ;  and  foremost  of  all,  her  governor  and  his 
staff.  And  such  a  governor  !  The  opportunity  of  taking  him  by 
the  hand  has  added  a  new  joy  to  the  occasion.  You  will  be  loath,. 
I  know,  to  separate  without  hearing  a  word  from  him,  and  I  there- 
fore propose  the  health  of  Gov.  Prescott. 

RESPONSE  OF  GOVERNOR  PRESCOTT. 
Mr.  J*resident  and  J^ellow  Citizens  of  the  United  States  : 

I  thank  you  for  the  complimentary  manner  in  which  you  have 
introduced  me,  and  for  the  generous  allusion  you  have  made  to 
New  Hampshire.  Alter  the  masterly  oration  to  which  we  have 
just  listened,  by  the  eminent  scholar  and  polished  orator  selected  by 
Vermont  from  my  own  state,  in  which  he  has  so  fully  and  so  justly 
recounted  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  citizens,  it  might  seem  appro- 
priate for  me  to  remain  a  silent  listener  to  the  words  of  these  emi- 
nent men,  who  have  gathered  here  from  every  section  of  the  country 
to  participate  in  the  reconsecration  of  this  battle  ground.  But 
I  cannot  remain  wholly  silent,  lest,  so  remaining,  I  appear  false  to 
the  trust  committed  to  me  by  my  fellow  citizens,  on  an  occasion 
when  the  heroic  acts  of  our  fathers  are  being  celebrated  in  speech, 
and  song,  and  military  display.  I  rejoice  that  the  chief  magistrate 
of  the  nation  is  here,  with  his  cabinet,  to  witness  the  enthusiastic 
loyalty  of  our  people.  » 

We  have  come,  Mr.  President,  a  long  journey,  to  join  with  Ver- 
mont and  Massachusetts  in  this  great  demonstration,  commemora- 


c-^^^-<i^^. 


■^ 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  105 

tive  of  one  of  the  most  decisive  battles  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
in  which  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  New  Hampshire  to  bear  a  conspicuous 
part.  How  well  she  bore  herself  one  hundred  years  ago  to-day,  on 
yonder  fields,  has  been  eloquently  set  forth  by  your  distinguished 
orator.  Vermont  had  her  heroes  on  that  memorable  day.  Massa- 
chusetts, as  usual,  was  at  the  front,  to  ward  off  and  stay  the  pro- 
gress of  a  common  foe  to  the  colonies,  and  then — I  do  not  say 
now — a  foe  to  popular  liberty  everywhere.  It  was  New  Hamp- 
shii'e's  good  fortune  to  be  fully  represented  then,  and  I  feel  sure 
the  cause  did  not  suffer  at  her  hands. 

It  has  never  happened  that  the  soil  of  New  Hampshire  has  been 
stained  in  battle  by  the  blood  of  her  own  citizens  or  of  her  countrymen, 
but  it  has  been  freely  shed  on  other  fields,  to  establish  and  maintain 
this  precious  inheritance.  Without  invidious  comparison,  I  will 
venture  the  assertion,  that  no  one  of  the  colonies,  in  proportion  to 
its  population  and  resources,  furnished  more  or  braver  or  truer  men 
in  the  i-evolutionary  war  than  did  New  Hampshire.  I  cannot,  I 
will  not  attempt  to  recount  all  their  deeds.  At  Bunker  Hill,  under 
the  same  gallant  leader,  John  Stark,  who  successfully  led  our  citizen 
soldiery  on  yonder  fields,  the  New  Hampshire  forces  outnumbered 
by  far  all  the  other  troops  engaged  ;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the 
fields  we  are  now  re-dedicating.  They  were  present  at  Trenton,  and 
unflinchingly  opened  the  fight ;  they  served  with  distinguished 
valor  at  Princeton  ;  under  the  immediate  command  of  Heniy 
Dearborn  they  were  the  first  to  lead  off  and  engage  the  enemy  at 
Saratoga ;  they  were  present  at  the  sux'render  of  Bui'goyne  ;  they 
were  at  Hubbardton,  and  Newport,  and  Monmouth  ;  they  stood 
together  at  Yorktown  when  their  great  work  had  been  accomplished, 
and  the  sceptre  of  George  the  Third  faded  from  their  soil,  and 
they  were  permitted,  through  their  patriotic  devotion  and  sacri- 
fices, to  see  the  great  struggle  culminate  in  the  permanent  estab- 
lishment of  a  free  and  independent  nation. 

You  delight  to  honor  your  Aliens,  your  Chittendens,  your  War- 
ners, your  Fays,  and  hosts  of  others,  as  you  ought,  whose  names 
we  heai'd  on  yesterday, — while  we  hold  in  perpetual  remembrance 
and  honor  our  Stark,  our  Scammel,  our  Poor,  our  Sullivan,  our 


106  Bennington  Centennial. 

Cilley,  our  Dearborn,  our  Whipple,  our  McClary,  our  Reeds, 
Meshech  Weare,  Matthew  Thornton,  Josiah  Bartlett, — all  patriots, — 
and  John  Langdon,  who  pledged  all  he  had  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
his  friend  Stark  on  this  expedition.  When  a  cause  is  supported  by 
such  material,  there  can  be  no  failure. 

It  is  well  to  allude  to  the  distant  past,  but  I  cannot  forget  the 
near.  In  1812  we  had  our  McNiel  and  our  Miller,  and  in  1848  our 
soldiers  did  gallant  service  in  Mexico.  In  the  late  war  of  the 
rebellion,  the  New  Hampshire  troops,  inheriting  the  valor  of  their 
fathers,  upon  one  hundred  and  fifty  battle-fields  fought  to  maintain 
our  union ;  and  from  Bull  Run  to  Appomatox  Court  House,  they 
were  found  on  almost  every  sanguinary  field. 

New  Hampshire  is  represented  here  to-day  by  our  soldiers  and 
our  citizens,  who  have  come  hither  to  join  with  you  in  this  peaceful 
commemoration  of  an  event  of  great  historic  importance.  Gath- 
erings like  this  are  of  infinite  value.  They  keep  alive  the  memories 
of  the  past,  and  inspire  the  people  with  renewed  patriotism  and  a 
stronger  love  for  our  common  country. 

This  certainly  is  a  beautiful  scene, — this  vast  concourse  of  people, 
gathering  on  this  spot  so  charming  and  picturesque,  to  swear  anew, 
over  the  dust  of  our  patriot  dead,  their  devotion  to  our  beloved 
country ; — and,  sir,  so  long  as  you  hold  this  dust.  New  Hampshire 
will,  in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  be  ready  with  you  to  defend  it, 
that  it  may  repose  quietly  under  the  protection  of  the  same  free 
government  that  has  guarded  it  so  well  for  one  hundred  years. 

Mr.  President,  I  may  be  allowed  one  word  further.  Vermont, 
through  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  extended  a  cordial  invitation 
to  New  Hampshire  to  be  present  and  participate  in  these  festivities. 
That  she  heartily  accepted  the  invitation  this  vast  concourse  proves. 
It  only  remains  for  me  to  thank  you  in  her  behalf,  for  your  abound- 
ing courtesies,  and  for  your  manifold  kindnesses  and  attentions  to 
her  numerous  representatives  here  to-day. 

INTRODUCING  HON.  E.  W.  STOUGHTON, 

Mr.  Phelps  remarked : 

We  have  heard  a  good  deal  of  what  Vermonters  have  done  at 
home,  and  much  might  with  equal  felicity  be  said  of  what  Vermont 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  107 

has  done  for  the  world  by  those  she  has  sent  away  from  home. 
Among  the  number  of  those  who  have  returned  to  us  this  day 
as  visitors  to  their  native  soil,  I  see  before  me  one  who  went  away 
as  a  boy  so  long  ago  that  he  would,  perhaps,  hardly  wish  me  to  refer 
to  dates,  and  who  comes  back  a  representative  of  the  first  profes- 
sional and  social  rank  in  the  city  of  New  York,  but  with  an  undi- 
minished love,  I  well  know,  for  the  state  of  his  birth.  I  have  great 
pleasure  in  introducing  Mr.  E.  W.  Stoughton. 

MR.  STOUGHTON'S  RESPONSE, 

Nothing  but  that  malicious  disposition  which  induces  lawyers  to 
put  their  professional  brethren  in  an  awkward  predicament  has  led 
my  brother  Phelps  to  call  me  out  here.  I  see  before  me  thousands 
of  men  and  hundreds  of  women.  I  never  could  talk  well  before 
more  than  twelve  men  at  any  onetime,  and  I  never  could  talk  success- 
fully to  more  than  one  woman  at  a  time.  The  orator  of  the  day  spoke 
about  the  Vermont  men  at  Bennington  leaving  their  rum  untouched 
and  responding  to  the  attack  of  the  British.  The  fact  was  that  the 
New  Hampshire  troops  had  drank  all  there  was.  When  Seth 
Warner  came  up  with  one  hundred  sober  Vermonters,  he  found  the 
New  Hampshire  Boys  inspirited  to  be  sure,  but  rather  in  a  demoral- 
ized condition.  When  the  enemy  saw  these  one  hundred  sober  Ver- 
monters, they  took  to  flight,  and  so  the  victory  won  by  New  Hamp- 
shire was  made  secure  by  Vermonters,  Now  I  shall  close  the  few 
observations  I  intended  to  make  by  saying,  that  if  the  men  who 
fought  that  battle  could  have  looked  forward  to  this  day  and  have  seen 
themselves  enthroned  in  the  aflfections  of  forty  millions  of  people, 
they  would  have  felt  that  all  the  sacrifices,  all  the  slain,  all  that 
went  to  secure  a  victory  that  was  dear  to  them  upon  that  field,  was 
well  repaid  by  this  day. 

INTRODUCING  GOVERNOR  FAIRBANKS, 

Mr.  Phelps  said :  Among  all  the  governors  who  are  our  honored 
guests  upon  this  occasion,  we  must  not  forget  our  own.  We  have 
weighed  him  as  accurately  as  if  upon  his  own  scales,  and  he  has  not 
been  found  wanting.     And  I  ought  to  say  here  that  the  success  of 


108  Bennington  Centennial. 

this  celebration  has  been  in  large  measure  owing  to  the  untiring 
efforts,  the  tact  and  the  courtesy  of  Gov.  Fairbanks.  I  have 
pleasure  in  proposing  his  very  good  health. 

GOVERNOR  FAIRBANK'S  RESPONSE. 

Governor  Fairbanks,  in  a  few  brief  words,  extended  a  cor- 
dial welcome  to  ^11  the  guests  present  in  the  name  of  the  people 
of  Vermont.  If  the  president  would  allow  him,  he  would  take 
the  liberty  of  calling  upon  ex-governor  Stewart,  speaker  of  the 
Vermont  legislature. 

SENATOR  EDMUNDS'  REMARKS. 

Gov.  Stewart  kept  himself  secluded  and  did  not  respond, 
whereupon  Senator  Edmunds'  name  was  called,  and  that  gen- 
tleman, rising  in  his  seat  said  : 

When  the  battle  is  in  its  utmost  crisis,  and  the  regulars  have 
run  away,  we  have  always  called  for  volunt  eers,  and  here  I  am. 
My  friend,  Gov.  Stewart,  who  has  never  failed  in  a  real  crisis,  seems 
to  have  dropped  out  now.  To  be  the  founder  of  a  state  is,  perhaps, 
the  greatest  glory  that  can  fall  to  a  man.  There  may  be  some- 
where great  heroes,  there  may  be  somewhere  great  priests  and 
apostles,  but  the  greatest  homage  is  due  to  those  who  have 
founded  free  and  independent  states.  And  so  to-day,  after  a 
hundred  years'  existence,  what  better  sentiment  can  we  invoke 
for  an  occasion  like  this  than  that  of  reverent  homage  to  the 
memories  of  those  great  men,  some  warriors,  some  statesmen, 
some  fanners,  some  shopmen,  who  founded  this  republic?  It 
is  not  one  pursuit  or  calling  that  makes  a  state  ;  it  is  all  those 
heroes  who  fought  and  died,  and  have  their  monuments  in  the 
perpetual  memories  of  the  people.  When  we  look  back  on  the 
history  of  a  hundred  years,  what  better  can  we  do  for  the  next 
century  than  to  hope  that  the  same  principles  that  have  kept  this 
union  solid  in  its  unity,  and  at  the  same  time  free  and  independent 
in  its  separate  state  rights,  shall  continue  to  prosper  forever  more. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  109 

INTRODUCING  POSTMASTER  GENERAL  KEY. 
In  calling  out  Postmaster  General  Key,  Mr.  Phelps  alluded 
to  the  great  pleasure  we  have  all  had  in  receiving,  as  one  of 
our  guests,  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  a  southern 
state,  whose  presence  in  the  cabinet  was  an  earnest  that 
the  administration  of  the  government  was  no  longer  sectional, 
but  national ;  and  expressed  the  hope  that  as  this  was  the  first 
time  he  had  penetrated  so  far  towards  the  north  pole,  he  might 
carry  home  with  him  as  favorable  an  opinion  of  us  as  we  have 
formed  of  him.     He  called  upon  Postmaster  General  Key. 

POSTMASTER  GENERAL  KEY'S  REMARKS. 

If  I  had  not  partaken  of  such  an  excellent  dinner,  no  doubt  I 
could  have  made  a  better  speech  I  confess  I  have  felt  very 
grateful  for  the  generous  reception  which  I  have  received.  That 
same  spirit  of  patriotism  which  one  hundred  years  ago  inspired 
alike  the  men  of  the  north  and  of  the  south,  now  extends  alike  to 
all  sections  of  our  country,  and  I  hope  that  when  my  friend,  Sena- 
tor Edmunds,  and  you,  Mr.  President,  meet  at  the  next  great  cen- 
tennial, •  we  shall  find  all  over  this  broad  country  the  same  spirit 
of  amity  that  now  exists. 

INTRODUCING  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  DEVENS, 

Mr.  Phelps  said :  No  cabinet  can  be  made  up  without  an  Attor- 
ney General,  whose  principal  duty  is  to  speak.  How  well  the 
present  incumbent  can  pei'form  that  duty,  we  had  a  chance  to  learn 
this  morning.  I  am  sure  I  shall  not  be  forgiven  by  the  ladies,  (and 
not  to  be  forgiven  of  them  were  "  to  be  damned  already,")  if  I 
should  fail  to  afford  them  as  well  as  ourselves  the  pleasure  of  hear- 
ing him  again.  I  therefore  beg  leave  to  introduce  Attorney  General 
Devens. 

RESPONSE  OF  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  DEVENS. 

I  am  very  sorry  that  you  are  to  have  such  a  performance  after 
such  a  magnificent  preface.  It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  join 
with  you  upon  this  occasion  of  such  deep  interest — an  occasion  of 
great  value,  if  we  can  carry  away  something  of  the  patiiotic  spirit 


110  Bennington  Centennial. 

that  possessed  the  men  who  fought  here.  While  every  thing  that 
is  said  must  always  be  inferior  to  brave  deeds  that  are  done,  it  is 
not  the  less  true  that  none  could  have  listened,  as  we  have  listened 
this  morning,  to  the  beautiful  oration  and  description  of  the  battle 
of  Bennington,  without  feeling  lifted  up  to  a  higher  plane,  and  to 
nobler  inspirations.  As  senator  Edmunds  has  said,  the  highest 
honors  are  for  the  founders  ot  states.  But  when  such  a  state  has 
for  a  hundred  yeara  shown  its  capacity  to  preserve  law  and  order ; 
when  it  has  given  comfort  and  sustenance,  liberty  and  la  w,  for  that 
period  to  a  people  among  whom  if  few  are  rich  none  are  poor,  it 
has  shown  that  it  has  a  right  to  be.  All  the  states  that  once 
claimed  jurisdiction  in  Vemiont  are  represented  to-day.  I  am  sure 
New  York  and  New  Hampshire  are  ready  to  relinquish  their  claim  ; 
and  Massachusetts,  although  her  title  to  the  whole  of  it  was  as 
good  as  to  any  pait,  always  had  an  extreme  delicacy  about  claiming 
more  than  two-thirds.  But  while  we  are  ready  to  relinquish  those 
claims  to-day,  we  shall  never  give  up  our  share  in  the  battle  of 
Bennington.     We  are  here  to  maintain  and  assert  that  right. 

Such  is  the  power  of  association,  that  fair  as  the  scene  is  about' 
us,  it  is  fairer  for  the  brave  deed  that  was  done  here.  Beautiful  as 
the  mountains  are  that  lift  their  heads  around  us,  they  are  the  more 
beautiful  and  noble  because  of  the  brave  men  who  here  gave  their 
lives  for  country.  I  am  glad  to  observe  that  "  old  Greylock,"  the 
monarch  of  the  Berkshire  hills,  as  well  as  the  mountains  of  Ver- 
mont, look  down  upon  the  place  where  the  children  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  rest  together  in  their 
glorious  graves. 

The  battle  that  was  fought  here  was  an  irregular  one,  yet  it  was 
a  piece  of  singular  good  fortune  that  among  its  leaders  were  two 
men  of  the  capacity  of  Stark  and  Warner.  And  I  am  gratified 
that  full  justice  has  been  done  to  the  remarkable  military  capacity 
of  Gen.  Stark.  But  the  force  they  led  was  a  force  of  brave  men 
hastily  drawn  together  by  the  inspiration  of  their  own  patriotism. 
Aside  from  that  lesson  of  patriotism,  it  seems  to  me,  when  we  con- 
sider the  character  of  the  fight,  that  there  is  another  yet  to  be 
drawn,  and  that  is,  that  in  a  free  government  those  who  undertake 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  Ill 

to  carry  on  that  government  have  to  rely  upon  themselves.  Every 
country  which  has  a  ruling  class  must  be  wretched  and  oppressed 
unless  that  class  does  its  whole  duty.  And  if,  in  this  country,  we 
assume  the  people  to  be,  as  they  are,  the  ruling  class,  they  must 
assert  their  rights  and  must  attend  to  all  their  duties.  They  cannot 
postpone  or  transfer  them  to  anyone  else.  They  must  watch  over 
the  government  and  interest  themselves  in  it,  and  guard  it  in  all  its 
functions  and  in  all  its  departments.  And  from  these  men  whom 
we  have  commemorated  we  can  carry  away  the  great  lesson  that 
by  the  simplicity  of  manly  and  dignified  lives  we  may  best  check 
that  corruption  which  seems  always  able  to  fasten  itself  upon  gi-eat 
governments,  and  may  stand  together  with  heroic  hearts  in  all  that 
makes  for  the  peace  and  honor  of  the  union,  and  the  safety  and 
happiness  of  its  people. 

INTRODUCItTG  SENATOR  MORRELL, 

Mr.  Phelps  said  :  We  had  hoped  for  the  pleasure  of  the  company 
ot  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  but  he  was  unfortunately  prevented 
from  being  present.  He  is  probably  engaged,  like  the  king  in  the 
nursery  tale,  "  in  his  counting  house,  counting  out  his  money,"  and 
preparing,  I  hope,  for  the  i-esumption  of  specie  payments.  As  the 
next  best  thing,  however,  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  give  you  the  name 
of  a  distinguished  gentleman  from  our  own  state,  who,  if  he  is  not 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  is  at  least  fit  to  be,  as  we  shall  all  admit. 

And  to  say  something  for  himself  in  that  capacity,  I  venture  to 
call  upon  senator  Morrill. 

RESPONSE  OF  SENATOR  MORRILL. 

It  is  true,  Mr.  President,  that  you  notified  me  you  were  going  to 
call  upon  me  for  a  bi'ief  speech,  but  I  could  not  think  you  were  in 
earnest,  as  no  one  knows  better  than  yourself  that  members  of 
congress  never  make  brief  speeches.  Nevertheless  I  shall  for  once 
try  to  be  brief. 

The  crowd  of  visitors  brought  together  here  yesterday  and  to-day 
offer  sufiicient  proof  that  we  have  assembled  to  celebrate  no  ordi- 
nary occasion,  but  to  celebrate  a  great  historical  event  of  the 
revolution,  or  the  battle  of  Bennington,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of 


112  Benni7igton   Centennial. 

commemorating  another  event,  and  that  is  the  birth  of  a  state,  of 
a  free  and  independent  state — never  a  colony  of  king  George,  and 
never  under  territorial  tutelage.  We  sat  in  nobody's  lap,  although 
the  Yorkers  showed  a  strong  disposition  to  hug  us,  and,  in  looking 
over  this  beautiful  country,  I  can  hardly  blame  them  for  their 
affection.  Very  likely,  if  it  had  not  been  for  Ethan  Allen,  who 
thought  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  altogether  too  big  to  be  hugged, 
we  might  have  gotten  into  rather  too  close  quarters  for  comfort. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Vermont  was  the  first  state  to  be 
admitted  into  the  union,  (after  a  little  "reluctant  amoi'ous  delay" 
on  the  part  of  congress,)  on  a  square  footing  with  the  original 
thiiteen,  and  I  have  seen  on  the  cars  yesterday  and  to-day  many 
battle-scarred  gentlemen  who  have  reason  to  remember  that  in  our 
more  recent  conflicts  we  have  shown  a  stout  disposition  to  be  the 
last  state  to  go  out. 

I  have  always  pitied  anybody  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  have  been 
born  in  Vermont,  and  especially  those  who  are  unable  to  claim  any 
share  in  the  glory  of  the  battle  of  Bennington.  It  was  a  battle 
gallantly  fought  and  won,  and  in  its  results  it  was  big  with  the  fate 
of  the  nation.  I  trust  that  we  shall  always  rally  to  every  call,  as 
to  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  which  summons  us  to  commemorate 
that  revolutionary  event,  so  honorable  to  the  ancient  virtues  of  the 
people  of  our  state. 

INTRODUCING  MR.  ALLEN. 
Mr,  Phelps,  in  a  few  fitting  words,  introduced  Hon.  Thomas 
Allen  as  a  prominent  citizen  of  St.  Louis,  a  native  of  old 
Massachusetts,  and  a  grandson  of  the  celebrated  "  fighting 
parson  Allen  "  of  the  revolution,  and  particularly  of  the  battle 
of  Bennington. 

RESPONSE  OP  HON.  THOMAS  ALLEN. 
Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Fellow  Countrymen  : 

A  man  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  his  ancestry',  but,  in  regard 
to  his  posterity,  he  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  be  held  answerable  for 
his  own.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  British  lost  then-  colonies 
by    mismanagement,  and  the   numerous   battles   they   fought  to 


Bennington  JBattle  Day.  113 

conquer  them,  by  bad  generalship.  I  am  quite  confident  that  I  am 
indebted  to  the  bad  marksmanship  of  the  Hessians  and  tories  in  the 
battle  of  Bennington  for  the  life  I  enjoy,  and  for  the  honor  of 
being  called  here  to-day.  It  is  my  fortune,  as  announced  by  the 
president,  for  better  or  worse,  according  to  the  family  record,  to  be 
a  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Allen  of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts, 
and  to  bear  his  name,  and  that  was  his  name,  and  not  "  Parson," 
as  one  might  infer  from  the  signs  and  banners  to-day  in  Benning- 
ton. If  I  have  been  pi-ospered,  possibly  it  is  attributable  to  the 
fact  that  I  have  endeavored  to  honor  the  name  I  bear,  and  in  some 
ways  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  my  illustrious  predecessor. 

And  so  yesterday,  haud  passibus  eguis,  I  came  here,  sir,  from 
Pittsfield,  on  the  route  my  grandfather  came  to  Bennington  just  one 
hundred  years  ago  that  day,  and  in  my  own  carriage  as  he  came  in 
his.  Possibly  his  horse  may  have  been  a  Narragansett  nag.  Mine 
came  with  me  from  that  then  almost  unknown  region,  a  thousand 
miles  away,  but  now  the  very  heart  of  the  country,  known  as  Mis- 
souri !  I  inquired  as  I  came  along  if  that  was  the  road  that  parson 
Allen  took  to  Bennington  just  one  hundred  years  ago  ?  The 
reply  was  "  they  guessed  it  was  " — they  knew  no  other.  Of  course, 
the  inhabitants  of  a  century  ago  had  long  since  disappeared,  and 
but  few  of  their  descendents  remain  in  the  old  places.  Doubtless 
the  country  was  at  that  time  a  wilderness,  and  this  road  infested 
more  or  less  with*  lurking  tories  and  savages.  Probably  it  was 
simply  blazed  or  notched.  The  gentleman  (president  Hayes)  who 
sits  by  your  side,  like  all  other  western  men,  knows  what  a  blazed 
road  is.  But  now,  sir,  behold  how  changed  !  I  saw  the  banks  of 
the  Housatonic  studded  with  factories  ;  I  saw  the  farmers  peacefully 
at  work  gathering  their  crops ;  I  saw  the  cattle  and  the  sheep  upon 
a  thousand  hills ;  I  heard  the  busy  hum  of  industry  in  the  valley 
of  the  Hoosac,  and  the  roar  of  that  lion  of  modern  progress,  the 
locomotive,  I  heard  at  Pittsfield,  at  Williamstown,  at  Pownal,  and 
even  here  on  these  beautiful  slopes  of  Bennington.  And,  sir,  as 
elated  with  glorious  traditions,  the  eye  kindled  and  the  heart 
dilated,  I  breathed  the  pure  air,  admired  the  scenery  and  enjoyed 
the  general  freedom,  I  could  not  but  feel  joyous  and  grateful  that 
8 


114  Bennington  Centennial. 

these  improvements  and  blessings  were  among  the  boons  secured 
to  us  by  the  heroic  efforts  of  our  grandfathers  at  Bennington. 
And  I  could  not  but  feel  proud  of  the  fact  that  if  I  can  boast  of 
no  other  title  to  nobility,  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  be  able  truly  to 
say,  "  I  am  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  heroes  of  Bennington  !" 

I  have  been  asked,  since  T  have  been  upon  this  ground,  how  it 
happened  that  parson  Allen  came  to  take  so  notable  a  part  in  the 
battle  of  Bennington  that  his  grandchildren,  along  with  those  of 
Stark  and  Warner,  are  invited  to  participate  in  this  celebration  ? 
He  was  the  first  minister  of  the  Congregational  society  of  Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  settled  there  as  such  in  1764,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  The  country  was  then  new,  and  society  in  a  formative 
condition.  He  became  a  leader  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  town,  and 
in  politics  as  well  as  in  religion.  His  heart  and  mind  became 
earnestly  engaged  in  aiding  that  cause  which  sought  to  establish  a 
church  without  a  bishop  and  a  state  without  a  king.  He  believed 
in  no  mediator  but  Christ  and  in  the  management  by  the  people  of 
their  own  church  affairs.  His  politics  were  a  natural  outgrowth  of 
his  religion.  He  became  an  ardent  and  active  whig  of  the  revolu- 
tion. He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  public  safety.  He 
urged  what  he  deemed  just  views  of  political  rights,  as  well  as 
religious  duties,  in  his  addresses  and  writings,  and  extended  his 
efforts  into  neighboring  towns,  and  even  into  the  state  of  New 
York.  He  corresponded  with  Gen.  Schuyler  at  Albany,  and  with 
Gen.  Pomeroy  at  Cambridge.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  join  the  hue 
and  cry  against  the  tories,  and  to  rally  the  whigs.  He  has  been 
accused  of  taking  his  musket  with  him  into  the  pulpit,  but  such 
was  the  state  of  constant  alarm  at  one  time  that  the  accompaniment 
of  arms  was  advised  as  a  common  necessity.  His  labors  were  inces- 
sant, in  preaching  the  Gospel  and  disseminating  the  seeds  of  liberty. 
He  had  counseled  with  his  cousin,  Ethan  Allen,  who  concocted  at 
Pittsfield  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  which  was  done  "  in  the 
name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  He 
was  a  chaplain  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains  in  the  fall  of  1776. 
His  brother,  Solomon,  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army,  and  had  charge 
of  Maj.  Andre  in  his  removal  and  delivery  to  Washington  at  West 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  115 

Point.  His  brother,  Jonathan,  was  a  major  in  the  army,  and 
■derived  his  commission  from  the  president  of  congress.  His 
•brother  Moses,  a  chaplain  to  the  army  in  the  south,  was  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  British,  and  lost  his  life  in  attempting  to  escape  from  a 
prison  ship,  and  was  deemed  so  great  a  rebel  that  the  British  refused 
•his  body  decent  burial.  His  brother,  Joseph,  was  a  lieutenant,  and 
with  him  came  to  Bennington.  He  had  been  a  month  at  Ticonde- 
roga,  just  previous  to  the  battle  of  Bennington,  and,  while  there, 
made  a  stirring  address  to  the  soldiers,  urging  them  to  stand  to  the 
post  like  men,  and  not  surrender  to  the  enemy,  then  in  sight,  "pre- 
ferring," as  he  said,  "  rather  than  flee  in  disgrace,  to  leave  his  body 
•a  coi*p8e  on  the  spot."  This  was  the  approach  of  Burgoyne,  one 
of  whose  batteries  was  no  sooner  planted  on  Mount  Defiance  than 
"the  garrison  of  Ticondei'oga,  under  Gen.  St,  Clair,  moved  off  in  the 
■darkness  of  the  night,  to  be  pursued  as  soon  as  discovered, 
and  to  be  overtaken  and  severely  punished  at  Hubbardton. 
■"  How  are  the  mighty  fallen,  and  the  weapons  of  war  have 
perished,"  exclaimed  parson  Allen,  indignant  at  what  he  thought 
at  the  time  to  be  a  cowardly  evacuation.  He  had  returned 
to  Pittsfield  somewhat  discouraged,  but  he  had  not  rested  long 
when  messengers  from  Stark  came  raising  the  alarm  through  Berk- 
•shire  county  that  Burgoyne  was  marching  on  Bennington.  With- 
out any  hesitation,  he  rallied  his  people  in  his  "  meeting  house,'* 
•and  made  them  a  speech  which  impressed  itself  on  the  memory  of 
a  generation.  "  All  of  you  who  will  go  to  meet  the  enemy,  follow 
me!"  y  nd  away  the  parson  went,  in  his  parochial  sulky,  on  what 
he  calls  "  his  tour  to  Bennington,"  twenty-two  going  with  him,  and 
seventeen  following  the  next  day,  gathering  volunteers  as  they 
went.  He  arrived  here  in  a  drenching  rain  on  the  night  of  the 
15th  of  August,  and  without  delay  reported  to  Gen.  Stark.  "  Here 
we  are  with  our  men  from  Berkshire.  We  have  been  frequently 
called  out,  but  have  never  been  led  against  the  enemy.  We  have 
now  resolved,  if  you  will  not  let  us  fight,  never  to  turn  out  again." 
"  You  would  not  march  now,  in  the  dark  and  rain,  would  you  V* 
replied  Gen.  Stark.  "  No,  not  just  this  minute,"  said  the  parson. 
*'Then,"  continued  Gen.  Stark,  "  if  the  Lord  once  more  gives  us 


116  Bennington  Centennial. 

sunshine,  and  I  do  not  give  you  a  chance  to  fight,  I  will  never  ask 
you  to  come  again."  These,  then  were  the  circumstances  under 
which  parson  Allen  made  his  appearance  here.  And  when  you 
remember  the  chagrin  and  disappointment  which  the  Berkshire 
people  had  experienced,  and  their  dissatisfaction  with  Gen.  Schuy- 
ler, commanding  the  northern  department,  you  will  perceive  the 
logic  and  justification  of  parson  Allen's  bold  speech  to  Gen.  Stark. 

Who  were  these  Berkshii-e  men  who  gave  Massachusetts  the  claim 
I  have  heard  asserted  by  only  one  man  (Gen.  Devens)  here  to-day 
to  share  the  glories  of  this  battle  ?  Why,  sir,  the  orator  of  the  day 
has  limited  them  to  one  hundred  and  fifty.  We  think  he  is  mis- 
taken. Our  traditions  claim  that  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty 
to  three  hundred,  including  a  few  Stockbridge  Indians,  and  they 
came  from  Williamstown,  Lauesboro,  Hancock,  Pittsfield,  Rich- 
mond, Stockbridge  and  other  places,  and  were  commanded  by  Ool. 
Simonds  of  Williamstown,  and  Lieut.  Col.  Rossiter  of  Richmond. 
They  were  made  a  part  of  Gen.  Stark's  reserve,  destined  to  face 
the  enemy's  cannon,  assail  the  tory  breastworks  and  the  pass  at  the 
bridge  in  front. 

The  morning  of  the  16th  broke  clear,  and  soon  commenced  the 
bustle  of  preparation.  When  the  adjutant  was  beginning  to  place 
his  squadrons  in  the  field,  parson  Allen  said  to  him :  "  We  will  do 
our  fighting  in  good  time,  but  we  will  first  join  in  prayer."  And 
then  the  Berkshire  men,  with  Lieut.  Col.  Rossiter,  gathered  around 
him,  and  such  a  pi'ayer  went  up  to  the  God  of  Armies  to  "  teacb 
their  hands  to  war  and  their  fingers  to  fight "  as  inspired  the  men 
with  true  courage  and  strong  faith  that  the  Almighty  was  with 
them.  Then  when  the  order  came  to  advance,  parson  Allen, 
moved  by  a  sense  of  duty,  went  boldly  to  the  front,  and,  rising 
upon  a  fallen  tree  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  demanded  the  sui-ren- 
der  of  the  tories.  The  reply  was :  "  There's  parson  Allen ;  let's 
pop  him  !"  Hostile  bullets  whistled  by  him,  or  struck  about  him, 
but  did  not  hit  him.  Having  thus  relieved  his  conscience,  he 
jumped  down  from  his  eminence,  and  turning  to  his  brother,  Lieut. 
Joseph  Allen,  who  had  followed  him,  said,  "  Now,  Joe,  give  me  a 
musket ;  you  load  and  I'll  fire."     And  thus  reducing  his  preaching 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  117 

to  practice,  his  gun  went  off  at  the  enemy,  and  he  was  gratified  to 
find  himself  and  his  followers  no  longer  kept  back  by  the  resti'aint 
of  red  tape  and  timidity.  The  glorious  battle  and  its  results  are 
well  known,  recited  and  sung,  and  we  have  come  here  to  celebrate 
the  one  hundredth  return  of  that  memorable  day.  The  orator  of 
the  day  said :  *'  The  work  was  done,  and  the  soldiers  dispersed  for 
rest  and  the  promised  plunder ;"  one  for  his  kettle,  one  for  his 
horse,  others  for  rum,  and  "  parson  Allen  his  surgeon's  panniers 
with  the  bottles."  It  is  true,  I  believe,  that  Mr.  Allen  found  the 
panniers  of  a  Hessian  surgeon  on  the  field,  containing  square  glass 
bottles,  filled  with  wine.  He  took  them,  not  as  Mr.  Stoughton  says 
the  New  Hampshire  boys  did,  to  drink  the  wine,  but  transforming 
himself  into  the  good  Samaritan,  to  administer  the  cordial  to  the 
weary  and  the  wounded.  And  who  were  these  Hessians,  who 
thus  fought  our  grandfathers  ?  They  were  the  hirelings  which  the 
British  government  obtained  of  the  hated  Frederick  II,  Elector  of 
Hesse-Cassel  in  Germany.  For  the  15,000  to  20,000  hired  for  this 
war,  it  is  stated,  on  English  authority,  that  the  Elector  was  paid 
£3,000,000.  A  son  of  mine,  and  bearing  the  same  name,  visited 
Wilhelmshohe  last  year,  and  while  there  reminded  me  that  the 
enormous  sum  paid  by  the  British  for  the  hire  of  the  Hessians  was 
squandered  with  shameful  extravagance  in  building  up  and  adorning 
those  gardens  and  galleries  which  make  that  place  the  Versailles  ot 
Germany.  These  hirelings  were  so  abominated  by  our  people  that 
they  were  accused  of  all  sorts  of  Dlood-thirstiness  and  barbarism, 
and  even  a  pest  which  destroyed  the  wheat  was  attributed  to  them, 
and  it  beara  to  this  day  the  name  of  the  Hessian  fly. 

Here  Mr.  Allen  was  requested  to  suspend  his  remarks,  and 
Mr.  Hayes,  President  of  the  United  States,  rising,  said  "  he 
was  much  interested,  and  regretted  he  could  not  stay  to  hear 
the  remainder,  but  the  train  was  appointed  to  leave  at  six 
o'clock,"  and  so  the  President  and  his  cabinet  and  party  left 
the  tent  and  the  grounds. 

Mr.  Allen,  resuming,  said  that  he  was  aware  that  it  was  getting 
late,  and  proposed  to  finish  his  speech  at  the  next  centennial.     Some 


118  Bennington  Centennial. 

persons  said :  "  No,  go  on,  go  on ;  these  are  the  facts  we  want,'" 
&c.  Mr.  A.,  continuing  :  My  remarks  are  already  too  long,  and  I 
will  conclude  with  a  few  words  more.  I  am  reminded  of  an  anec- 
dote. My  grandfather,  being  a  clergyman,  was  once  asked  by  a 
son,  my  father,  whether  he  had  ever  killed  a  man.  His  reply  was  t 
"  My  son,  I  don't  know.  But  I  remember  that  near  the  close  of 
the  day  at  Bennington,  I  observed  a  flash  behind  a  bush  at  our  left^ 
which  seemed  to  take  effect  upon  our  men.  I  raised  ray  musket 
and  fired  at  the  bush,  and  I  put  out  the  flash."  The  inference 
was  that  Hessian  or  tory  was  laid  out  on  the  other  side.  In  a  com- 
munication subsequently  made  to  an  invitation  to  meet  Gen.  Stark, 
he  commended  the  patriotism  of  the  ladies  of  Bennington,  wha 
zealously  stripped  their  bedsteads  of  cords  to  enable  our  men  to 
tie  their  prisoners  so  that  they  should  not  escape. 

Mr.  President,  the  battle  of  Bennington  cut  the  hamstring  of  the 
British  lion  in  the  north.  It  so  crippled  him,  and  so  encouraged 
and  rallied  our  gi-andfathers,  that  Burgoyne  fell  an  easy  prey 
to  superior  numbers  at  Saratoga  in  the  ensuing  October.  There 
was  a  chain  the  enemy  was  forging  and  stretching  by  the  Hudson 
from  Canada  to  New  York  that  was  thus  forever  broken  and  cast 
away.  And  in  this  light  the  battle  of  Bennington  appears  second 
in  importance  to  none  that  was  fought  during  the  revolutionaiy 
war.  To  the  combined  volunteer  forces  of  New  Hampshire,  Ver- 
mont, and  Berkshire  county  of  Massachusetts,  we  are  indebted  for 
the  glorious  results  of  the  16th  of  August,  1777.  Ever  memorable 
and  honorable  should  we  hold  the  men  by  whose  heroic  efforts  the 
victory  was  achieved.  As  these  states  were  honored  and  their 
cause  saved  by  these,  their  brave  sons,  the  event  deserves  to  be 
celebrated,  and  monumental  granite  should  rise  to  mark  the  spot 
and  perpetuate  its  glories.  As  for  the  descendants  of  parson  Allen, 
inheriting  his  spirit  of  patriotism,  some  of  them  have  been  in  every 
war  carried  on  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States  since  the  revo- 
lution. Some  sixty  of  them  to-day  living  in  this  land,  but  scattered 
from  Maine  to  Texas,  take  a  lively  interest  in  this  day's  celebration, 
and  will,  no  doubt,  according  to  their  ability,  take  equal  pride  and 
pleasure  in  contributing  to  perpetuate  the  glorious  memories  of  the 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  119 

battle  of  Bennington.  In  then-  name  I  beg  to  thank  you  for  the 
honor  of  being  remembered,  invited  and  recognized  on  this 
occasion. 

INTRODUCING  LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR  KNIGHT. 
In  introducing  Lieut.  Gov.  Knight  of  Massachusetts,  Mr. 
Phelps  expressed  the  very  general  regret  that  the  governor  of 
the  state  of  Massachusetts  had  been  unable  to  attend.  He 
referred  to  Massachusetts  as  not  only  the  greatest  of  the  New 
England  states,  but  eminently  entitled  to  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  celebration  of  an  event  in  which  her  sons  had  so  honored 
a  share  ;  and  begged  leave  to  introduce  as  her  representative, 
the  Hon.  Horatio  G.  Knight,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR  KNIGHT'S  RESPONSE, 
Mr.  President : 

I  am  very  glad  that  most  of  what  I  might,  could  or  would  have 
said  on  this  occasion  has  already  been  better  said  by  gentlemen 
who  have  preceded  me.  Time  will  not  permit  me  to  say  much,  and 
there  is  no  occasion  for  my  saying  anything. 

In  a  certain  sense,  Massachusetts  men  are  performing  here  to-day 
the  play  of  Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left  out.  The  absence  of  our 
excellent  governor  and  the  cause  of  his  absence  are  deeply  regretted 
by  us  all.  He  has  been  looking  forward  to  this  day  with  lively 
interest,  and  were  he  present  he  would  doubtless  enjoy  and  add  to 
the  interest  of  the  occasion.  No  one  can  regret  more  than  myself 
that  he  is  not  here  to  make  a  fitting  response  to  your  call.  I  say 
fitting  response,  for  such  it  would  surely  be.  The  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  like  the  governors  of  the  other  New  England  states, 
to  whom  pleasant  allusion  has  been  made,  and  some  of  whose 
voices  we  have  heard  to-day,  is  one  who  does  not  merely  occupy 
the  position,  but  completely  fills  and  adorns  the  high  office  to  which 
he  has  been  called. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  there  are  no  spots  in  New  England 
more  rich  in  historical  associations  than  Bunker  Hill,  Concord 


120  Bennington    Centennial. 

Lexington  and  Bennington.  While  Massachusetts  claims  a  share 
in  the  victory  that  M'^as  won  here  one  hundred  years  ago,  it  is  true, 
as  has  already  been  intimated  that  but  few  Massachusetts  men 
were  engaged  in  the  battle.  More  would  have  been  present  had 
the  battle  been  delayed  a  few  days  ;  for  you  remember  that  while 
fighting  parson  Allen  was  here  praying  for  his  men,  that  the  God 
of  Battles  would  "  teach  their  hands  to  war  and  their  fingers  to 
fight,"  and  the  good  people  of  Williamstown  and  PittFfield  were 
praying  for  the  success  of  our  arms,  many  others  who  had 
started,  or  were  about  to  come  from  Massachusetts  to  take 
part  in  the  conflict,  were  met  and  turned  back  by  the  good 
news  that  the  battle  had  been  fought  and  the  victory  won,  and  that 
Molly  Stark  was  not  made  a  widow.  It  was  indeed  a  glorious 
battle.  The  men  of  Berkshire  may  well  be  proud  of  the  part  taken 
in  it  by  their  fathers  ;  it  may  well  be  commemorated  by  speech  and 
song,  and  all  such  demonstrations  as  we  witness  here  to-day.  Its 
memory  will  doubtless  be  kept  green  in  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people  so  long  as  the  republic  endures. 

Mr.  Knight  then  spoke  of  the  interest  felt  on  the  occasion  by  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  as  indicated  by  the  presence  of  some  of 
her  senators  and  representatives  in  congress,  both  branches  of  her 
legislature,  the  executive  council,  the  heads  of  departments,  the 
personal  and  military  staff  of  the  governor,  and  the  first  corps  of 
Independent  Cadets,  together  with  many  of  her  private  citizens, 
all  of  whom  had  come  in  the  same  fraternal  and  patriotic  spirit 
that  animated  the  men  of  Bex'kshire  who  came  in  1777. 

After  alluding  to  the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature  in 
making  an  appropriation  for  the  prospective  Bennington  monument, 
he  expressed  thanks  for  the  invitation  to  participate  in  the  exercises 
of  the  day,  lor  the  cordial  reception  that  had  been  given,  and 
the  abounding  hospitality  that  had  been  exercised  by  the  men 
and  women  of  beautiful  Bennington,  and  closed  by  expressing 
the  earnest  hope  that  the  patriotic  associations  of  the  day 
might  inspire  all  present  with  renewed  thankfulness  to  our  God 
and  the  God  of  our  fathers,  who  had  so  greatly  blessed  and  pros- 
pered us  during  the  past  century. 


@^$^ 


'^c^cy. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  121 

INTRODUCING  PRESIDENT  BARTLETT, 
Mr.  Phelps  said  :  We  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of  a  few  parting 
words  from  the  gentleman  who  has  given  us  this  morning  so  admira- 
ble and  eloquent  an  address,  and  w^ho,  therefore,  needs  no  introduc- 
tion to  this  audience.  I  propose  the  thanks  of  the  assembly  to 
President  Bartlett,  for  the  great  pleasure  and  instfuction  we  have 
received  from  him. 

RESPONSE  OF  PRESIDENT  BARTLETT. 
Mr.  I*resident : 

After  the  long  and  kind  attention  which  this  great  audience  has 
already  given  me,  I  will  detain  them  only  with  a  word  of  thanks 
and  of  personal  greeting.  It  is  good  to  be  here, — upon  Vermont's 
chief  historic  ground,  and  on  this  her  great  gala  day.  It  is  a 
pleasant  thing  to  come  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  to  these 
"  New  Hampshire  Grants,"  and  to  the  old  town  which  commemo- 
rates, in  its  name  and  charter,  the  Benning  Wentworth  who  gave 
to  our  Dartmouth  College  the  original  five  hundred  acres  on  which 
it  stands.  And  I  am  glad  to  represent  here  to-day  that  old  college 
which  furnished  the  chaplain  for  the  fight  a  hundred  years  ago,  and 
to  share  personally  in  the  blood  that  waxed  hot  and  flowed  on  that 
memorable  day.  The  citizens  of  New  Hampshire  are  hei-e  to  con- 
gratulate their  brethren  of  Vermont.  We  rejoice  with  you  in  the 
presence  of  these  illustrious  guests.  We  ai'e  glad  that  our  honoi'ed 
President  and  his  associates  should  look  out  on  this  fair  scene,  the 
splendid  prize  of  the  victors.  It  is  an  odd  blending  of  opposites 
that  they  see, — this  sumptuous  repast  so  near  the  site  of  the  Cata- 
mount tavern,  this  most  democratic  of  commonwealths  that  never 
elects  a  Democratic  governor,  this  most  warlike  of  states,  in  which 
to-day  the  sole  function  of  the  police  is  to  tell  the  stranger  his  way, 
and  perhaps  oddest  of  all,  the  grave  temperance  joke  of  our  distin- 
guished friend  from  New  York.  For  we  chiefly  rejoice  that  the 
gallant  men  who  fought  and  won  that  fight,  had  no  mist  on  their 
brains,  no  vagueness  in  their  aim  and  their  stroke,  and  that  they  left 
no  cloud  on  their  name. 

This  closed  the  exercises  of  the  banquet. 


LETTERS  FROM  INVITED  GUESTS. 


LIEUT.  GENERAL  P.  H.  SHERIDAN. 

Headquarters  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri,  ) 

Chicago,  July  31.  ) 
To  the  Hon.  Horace  Fairbanks,  President  Bennington  Battle 
Monument  Association  and  Governor  of  Vermont  : 
Dear  Sir  : — I  have  just  returned  from  a  five  weeks'  trip  in  the 
west,  and  among  other  letters  awaiting  my  action,  I  find  yours  of 
the  2d  inst.,  induding  a  copy  of  a  resolution  of  the  monument 
association,  and  also  your  cordial  invitation  to  be  present  on  the 
loth  and  16th  of  August  next  at  the  centennial  celebration  of  the 
independence  of  Vermont  and  the  battle  of  Bennington.  I  am 
very  soiTy  to  be  obliged  to  decline  the  invitation,  but  from  present 
appearance  I  shall  be  kept  busy  with  my  military  division  tor  some 
months  to  come.  No  man  living  has  a  higher  appreciation  of  the 
patriotism  of  the  sons  of  the  sires  of  1777  than  I  have,  and  no  one 
knows  what  the  descendants  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  can  do 
upon  hard  fought  fields  better  than  I  do,  and  I  feel  that  it  is  emi- 
nently fitting  that  we  do  everything  in  these  centennial  years  to 
honor  the  memory  of  the  fathers  of  the  republic.  Trusting  that 
your  celebration  will  be  worthy  of  its  objects,  I  am,  sir,  with  great 
respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

P.  H.  SHERIDAN. 

Jjieut.  Gen  I.  TJ.  S.  Armxf, 

GEN.  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON  OF  VIRGINIA. 

White  Sulpher  Springs,  Aug.  6th,  1877. 
Chas.  M.  Bliss,  Sec,  etc.,  etc.  : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  the  letter  of  July 
21st,  in  which  you  invite  me  to  "  attend  and  participate  in  the  cel- 
ebration of  the  one  hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  Vermont  as 
a  state,  and  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington." 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  123 

It  would  gratify  me  inexpressibly  to  meet  on  two  such  occasions, 
the  descendants  of  the  earliest  assertei's,  by  battle,  of  American 
liberty.  But  ray  personal  obligations  will  not  permit  me  to  avail 
myself  of  the  privilege  you  confer,  although  I  appreciate  very 
highly  that  privilege,  and  the  feelings  that  prompted  your  associ- 
ation to  confer  it. 

Earnestly  hoping  that  these  two  centennial  celebrations  may  be 
continued  to  the  end  of  time,  I  am 

Most  respectfully  and  trulj  yours, 

J.  E.  JOHNSTON. 

P.  S.  The  hope  that  the  "  obligations  "  might  cease  induced  me 
to  delay  this  acknowledgment.  J.  E.  J. 


GOVERNOR  HUBBARD  OF  CONNECTICUT. 

Hartford,  Conn.,  July  26,  1877. 
To  the  Honorable  Horace  Fairbanks,  President,  &e. : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  kind  invitation  to  attend  the 
coming  centennial  celebration  of  the  independence  of  your  state 
and  of  the  battle  of  Bennington.  I  have  delayed  its  acknowledg- 
ment until  now  in  hope  that  I  might  find  myself  able  to  accept 
your  courtesy,  and  convey  in  person  to  the  association  you  repre- 
sent the  greeting  of  the  sister  state  of  Connecticut.  I  find, 
however,  at  last,  that  I  shall  be  obliged  to  deny  myself  this  pleasure. 
But  although  compelled  to  be  absent,  suffer  me  to  present  by  a 
single  word — a  word  of  homage  to  the  memory  of  the  glorious 
dead  whose  heroism  you  commemorate,  and  of  salutation  to  your 
gallant  commonwealth — the  younger  sister  of  the  original  thirteen, 
born  and  cradled  in  the  revolution.  Denied  admission  in  the  con- 
federacy, with  an  intrepidity  which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  history 
she  erected  lierself  into  a  sovereign  state,  and,  separate  and  alone, 
declared  her  independence,  not  only  of  Great  Britain,  but  of  a  sister 
state  which  did  in  violation  of  the  tenth  commandment,  covet  her 
lands ;  gave  her  blood  and  treasure  without  stint  to  the  common 
struggle  for  liberty,  kept  her  constancy  and  her  loyalty  to  the  com- 
mon cause,  unseduced  and  unshaken  to  the  end.     Honor  and  glory 


124  JSenningion    Centennial. 

then  to  your  noble  state,  the  "Lone  Star"  of  the  revolution,  and 
to  the  heroic  dead  who  sleep  in  her  green  bosom  in  blessings  !  The 
state  of  Israel  Putnam  and  Jonathan  Trumbull,  which  furnished  to 
your  forefathers  their  great  soldier,  Ethan  Allen,  and  their  first 
governor,  Thomas  Chittenden,  sends  homage  to  the  memory  of  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  of  the  revolution,  and  centennial  congratula- 
tions and  sisterly  greetings  to  their  sons  and  daughters. 

With  renewed  acknowledgments  for  your  courtesy,  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

R.  H.  HUBBARD. 


GOVERNOR  HUBBARD  OF  TEXAS. 

Austin,  May  24th,  1877. 
To  Sis  JExeellency  Horace  JFairbanks,   Governor  of  Vermont, 

and  President  of  the  Bennington  Monument  Association : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  complimentary  invitation  to  be  present  and  participate  with 
your  association  in  celebrating  the  one  hundredth  anniversaries  of 
the  independence  of  Vermont,  and  of  the  battle  of  Bennington. 

It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  accept  your  invitation,  and 
be  with  you  to  mingle  my  congratulations  with  those  of  the 
descendants  of  the  "  Green  Mountain  Boys  "  of  the  revolution,  but 
my  official  engagements  will  doubtless  prevent  my  attendance  on 
these  suggestive  anniversaries. 

With  sentiments  of  high  esteem,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  very 
truly  and  respectfully  yours, 

R.  B.  HUBBARD. 


GOVERNOR  WILLIAMS  OF  INDIANA. 

Indianapolis,  May  22,  1877. 
To  His  JExeellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the 
invitation  conveyed  by  you  to  attend  and  participate  in  the  centen- 
nial celebration  of  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  a  state,  and  the 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  125 

centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  at  Bennington, 
Vermont,  on  the  15th  and  16th  days  of  August  next 

Please  accept  for  yourself  and  the  association  over  which  you 
preside  my  thanks  and  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  cele- 
bration. 

It  would  afford  me  pleasure  to  be  present  on  that  occasion,  but  I 
fear  that  my  duties  here  will  prevent. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  D.  WILLIAMS. 


GOVERNOR  MATHEWS  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

Wheeling,  West  Va.,  May  22,  1877. 
2o  Bis  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  just  received  your  kind  invitation  to  partici- 
pate in  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  independence  of  Vermont 
as  a  state,  and  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Benning- 
ton, on  the  15th  and  16th  of  August  next. 

It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  tu  be  present  on  these  intei'esting 
occasions,  and  I  hope  to  be  able  to  attend,  but  can  not  now  say 
whether  I  shall  be  able  to  leave  home  at  that  time. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

HENRY  M.  MATHEWS. 


GOVERNOR  VANCE  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Raleigh,  K  C,  May  30,  1877. 
2  0  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont  and  Pres- 
ident of  the  Bennington  Battle  Monument  Association  : 
Dear  Sir  : — I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  reception  of 
your  very  courteous  invitation  to  attend  the  centennial  celebration 
of  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  a  state,  and  the  centennial 
celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  on  the  15th  and  16th  of 
August  next,  and  to  assure  you  of  my  high  appreciation  of  the 
invitation. 


126  jBenningion  Centennial. 

I  would  be  most  happy  to  accept,  but  the  exigencies  of  my  office 
are  such  as  to  prevent  so  long  an  absence  from  my  state. 

With  the  assurance  of  my  best  wishes  for  the  great  success  of  the 
celebration,  and  that  a  grand  and  happy  time  may  be  had, 
I  am  yours  very  respectfully, 

ZEBULON  B.  VANCE. 


GOVERNOR  COLQUITT  OP  GEORGIA. 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  June  16,  1877. 
To  His  Excellency  Horace  Ifairhanks,  Governor  of   Vermont : 

Dear  Sir  : — ^Your  polite  invitation  to  attend  and  participate  in 
the  centennial  celebration  of  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  a 
State,  and  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  is 
before  me.  I  cannot  so  far  in  advance  give  you  any  degree  of 
assurance  that  I  can  avail  myself  of  your  kind  invitation,  but  will 
say  now,  that  most  heartily  sympathising  in  the  object  of  your  con- 
templated celebration,  I  shall  take  the  greatest  pleasure  in  uniting 
with  you  on  that  occasion  if  my  official  duties  will  permit. 
Most  respectfully  yours, 

ALFRED  H.  COLQUITT. 


GOVERNOR  Mccreary  of  Kentucky. 

Frankfort,  Ky.,  May  26,1877. 
Hon.  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont  and  President  of 
Bennington  Battle  Monument  Association  : 
Dear  Sir  : — The  kind  invitation  of  your  association  to  attend  the 
centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  state  of  Vermont,  tendered  me  through  you  as  its 
president,  is  at  hand,  and  I  can  only  regret  that  official  engagements 
will  prevent  me  from  attending. 

Respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  B.  McCREARY. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  127 

GOVERNOR  STONE  OP  MISSISSIPPI. 

Jackson,  Miss.,  May  25,  1877. 
To  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont : 

Mx  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  return  you  my  most  sincere 
thanks  for  your  courteous  invitation  to  attend  and  participate  in  the 
centennial  celebration  of  the  independence  of  Vermont  as  a  state, 
and  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  on  the 
15th  and  16th  of  August  next. 

I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  it  would  afford  me  great  pleasure 
to  accept  your  invitation  and  be  pi-esent  and  participate  in  the  pro- 
ceedings ol  your  association,  but  my  engagements  are  such  as  to 
compel  me  to  deny  myself  that  pleasure. 

I  fully  sympathize  with  the  principles  and  purposes  of  the  asso- 
ciation and  tender  my  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your  centennial 
celebrations. 

I  am  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  M.  STONE. 


GOVERNOR  MILLER  OF  ARKANSAS. 

Little  Rock,  May  25,  1877. 

To  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
courteous  letter  tendering  to  me  the  invitation  ot  your  association 
to  attend  and  participate  in  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Vermont  as  a  state,  and  the  centennial  celebration  of 
the  battle  of  Bennington. 

I  regret  that  the  pressure  of  official  duties  renders  it  impossible 
for  me  to  have  the  pleasure  of  joining  you  in  person.  I  am,  how- 
ever, permitted  that  of  sincerely  congratulating  your  commonwealth 
upon  the  completion  of  its  first  century  ot  existence  as  a  state,  and 
upon  the  recurrence  of  an  anniversary  so  glorious  as  that  of  Ben- 
nington. Peculiarly  honorable,  of  course,  to  the  State  upon  whose 
soil  it  was  fought,  the  recollections  aod  triumphs  of  such  an  event 
are  yet  the  pi'operty  of  the  whole  American  people ;  and  I  claim 


188  Bennington  Centennial. 

for  myself  and  the  citizens  of  my  own  state  our  share  of  interest 
in  their  commemoration. 

With  fraternal  wishes  I  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

W.  B.  MILLER. 


GOVERNOR  PORTER  OF  TENNESSEE. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  July  31,  1877 
To  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  Governor  of  Vermont  : 

Dear  Sir  : — 1  have  postponed  an  answer  to  your  invitation  to 
attend  and  participate  in  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Vermont  as  a  state,  and  the  centennial  celebration  of 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  in  the  hope  that  I  might  gratify  a  wish  I 
have  long  had  to  visit  the  New  England  states,  but  I  now  find  that 
I  shall  be  compelled  to  forego  that  pleasure  for  the  present. 

With  thanks  for  your  attention,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very 
respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  D.  PORTER. 


SENATOR  MATTHEWS  OF  OHIO. 

Cincinnati,  August  6,  1877. 
My  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  note  of  July  21,  inviting  me  in  the  name  of  the  Bennington 
battle  monument  association,  and  as  its  guest  to  attend  and  partici- 
pate in  the  celebration  on  the  15th,  at  Bennington,  of  the  one 
hundredth  year  of  the  existence  of  Vermont  as  a  state. 

I  regret  very  much  to  say  that  ray  engagements  here  make  an 
acceptance  of  your  hospitality  impracticable,  otherwise  it  would 
have  been  a  privilege  and  a  pleasure  to  accept  it. 

Yours  truly, 

STANLEY  MATTHEWS. 
C.  M.  Bliss,  Secretary  of  the  Association. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  129 

SENATOR  BAYARD  OF  DELAWARE. 

Wilmington,  Del.,  August  1,  1877. 
Charles  M.  Bliss,  Secretary  : 

Deak  Sir  : — On  my  return  home,  yesterday,  I  receiyed  the  invi- 
tation of  your  association  to  attend  and  participate  on  the  15th 
instant,  in  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
Vermont's  existence  as  a  state  in  the  Union,  and  on  the  day  follow- 
ing, the  celebi'ation  of  the  anniversary  of  the  Ameiican  victory  at 
Bennington. 

A  prolonged  absence  has  caused  an  accumulation  of  my  duties 
here,  which  forbids  ray  leaving  home  for  some  time,  and  therefore 
I  am  compelled  with  many  regrets  to  decline  your  kind  invitation. 

It  is  with  sincere  satisfaction  that  I  witness  these  exhibitions  of 
respect  for  the  worthy  deeds  of  our  forefathers,  and  the  evident 
disposition  of  our  fellow  countrymen  everywhere  to  cherish  the 
memory  of  their  patriotic  ancestry,  especially  in  times  like  the  pres- 
ent, when  public  and  private  virtue  so  need  the  reinvigorations  of 
such  examples.  Vermont  is  rich  in  such  associations,  and  in  field 
•and  council  her  sons  have  done  good  and  honorable  service,  which 
has  redounded  to  the  honor  and  welfare  of  the  whole  country. 
In  the  glory  of  her  past  history,  which  you  now  commemorate,  we 
all,  as  Americans,  claim  a  share,  and  in  her  present  prosperity,  I 
am  sure  that  we  all  must  heartily  and  sincerely  rejoice. 

Truly  and  respectfully,  your  friend  and  fellow  citizen, 

T.  F.  BAYARD. 


GEN.  GARFIELD  OF  OHIO. 

Menton,  O.,  August  7,  1877. 
Charles  M.  Bliss,  Esq.  : 

Dear  Sir  : — Yours  of  the  30lh  ult.,  inviting  me  to  attend  the 
centennial  celebration  at  Bennington  on  the  15th  inst.,  came  duly 
at  hand.  I  regret  that  my  engagements  do  not  make  it  possible 
for  me  to  accept.  I  delayed  answering  a  day  or  two  in  hopes  that 
I  might  see  my  way  to  attend,  as  I  am  about  to  make  a  journey  to 
9 


130  Bennington  Centennial, 

Quebec,  and  thought  it  possible  I  could   take  in  Bennington  on 
my  way,  but  it  does  not  appear  possible  to  do  so. 
Very  truly  yours, 

J.  A.  GARFIELD. 


A  GREETING  FROM  MICHIGAN. 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  August,  1877. 
The  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermont  in  the  Grand  River  valley 
of  the  Peninsular  state  send  gi'eeting  to  the  people  of  Vermont  on 
this  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  August  16th, 
1877; 

Although  remote  from  our  Green  Mountain  home,  we  have  never 
ceased  to  cherish  and  love  the  old  state,  among  whose  hills  and 
vales  our  childhood  was  spent.  We  have  been  upon  her  mountain 
tops,  sported  by  her  crystal  streams,  and  played  upon  her  green 
slopes.  We  retain  a  just  pride  in  the  virtue,  intelligence  and  pat- 
riotism of  her  people,  and  in  her  illustrious  citizens  whose  names 
adorn  the  annals  of  the  republic.  We  do  not  forget  that  in  the 
darkest  days  of  our  colonial  struggle  for  freedom  and  independence 
the  people  of  Vermont  declared  to  the  colonies  and  to  the  world, 
"  We  are  a  state  !"  We  treasure  in  grateful  remembrance,  and 
with  unfeigned  joy,  the  heroic  deeds  of  those  patriotic  sires  who 
fought  and  won  upon  the  field  of  Bennington,  and  with  you  were 
the  names  of  Stark,  Warner,  Chittenden,  Allen  and  their  compat- 
riots who  sustained  victoriously  the  heat  and  burden  of  a  struggle, 
the  results  of  which  have  rolled  down  a  century  of  time  with  stu- 
pendous and  increasing  force  in  their  molding  and  beneficent 
influence  upon  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Accept  our  congratulations  and  most  cordial  greetings,  and  permit 
us  to  join  with  you  in  commemorating  the  first  centennial  of  the 
battle  of  Bennington,  our  common  heritage. 

In  behalf  of  the  Vermont  society  of  Michigan, 

SOLOMON  L.  WHITNEY,  ] 
NAPOLEON  J.  SMITH, 
GERSHOM  N.  BRIGHAM,  \  Committee. 
JAMES  H.  MCKEY,  | 

HEALEY  C.  AKELEY,        J 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  131 

REV.  E.  H.  CHAPIN. 

Pigeon  Cove,  Mass.,  July  26,  1877. 
Mr.  G.  M.  miss  ; 

Dear  Sir  : — Permit  me,  through  you,  to  retura  my  sincere  thanks 
to  the  association  of  which  you  are  the  secretary,  for  the  invitation 
with  which  they  have  honored  me,  and  also  to  express  my  extreme 
regret  that  the  state  of  my  health  renders  it  very  doubtful  whether 
I  can  be  in  Bennington  at  the  celebration  on  the  16th  of  August, 
and  I  am  therefore  compelled  to  decline. 

Very  truly  yours, 

E.  H.  CHAPIN. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

AsHFiELD,  Mass.,  July  30,  1877. 
a  M.  Bliss,  Esq.  ; 

Dear  Sir  : — ^I  am  sincerely  obliged  by  your  invitation  on  behalf 
of  the  centennial  association  to  attend  the  celebration  at  Benning- 
ton on  the  15th  and  16th  of  August,  and  am  soiTy  that  lam  unable 
to  accept  it.  But  we  shall  all  rejoice  and  celebrate  with  you 
wherever  we  may  be, — and  if  any  true  American  refuses,  his  wife 
ought  to  sleep  a  widow  that  night. 
Yours  truly, 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 


REV.  LEONARD  BACON. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  August  1,  1877. 
Charles  M.  Bliss,  Secretary  : 

Dear  Sir  : — The  invitation  addressed  to  me  at  New  Haven  found 
me  here.  My  hearty  thanks  are  due  to  the  association  for  the  honor 
which  they  confer  by  inviting  me  to  partake  with  them  in  the 
double  celebration  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  insts.,  but  I  find 


132  Bennington  Centennial. 

that  it  will  not  be  possible  for  me  to  be  there ;  and  while  I  claim 
no  neai*  relation  to  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  of  a  hundred  years 
ago,  I  remember  that  one  of  my  ancestors  and  others  of  my  father's 
kindred  found  homes  and  graves  in  Vermont.  As  a  citizen  of  Con- 
necticut I  am  proud  to  read  on  the  maps  of  your  state  so  many 
names  of  our  old  towns,  like  Windsor,  Hartford  and  New  Haven, 
reminding  ua  that  what  is  now  Vermont  was  once  as  a  western 
reserve,  and  was  at  a  later  date  called  New  Connecticut.  And  as  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  I  give  thanks  to  God,  not  only  for 
what  Vermont  was  and  was  doing  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  also  for 
all  her  hardy  and  heroic  sons  have  contributed  in  peace  and  war 
by  tireless  industry,  by  daring  enterprise,  by  genius  of  artist  and 
poet,  by  philosophic  scolarship,  by  wise  and  faithful  statesmanship, 
by  the  patriot  blood  that  has  consecrated  many  a  field  of  battle, 
and  by  self-sacrificing  zeal  in  the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  to 
the  stability,  the  wealth,  the  beneficences,  and  the  renown  of  our 
National  Union. 

Respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

LEONARD  BACON. 


JOHN  G.  WHITTIER. 

Danvers,  Mass,  August,  1877. 
C.  M.  Bli$s^  JSsq.  : 

My  Dear  Sir  : — I  regret  deeply  that  I  cannot  be  present  at 
the  Vermont  centennial  celebration,  to  which  thy  letter  invites  me. 
The  state  of  my  health  will  not  permit,  and  the  same  reason  pre- 
vents me  from  attempting  to  embody  in  verse  the  spirit  and  feeling 
of  the  great  occasion.  The  record  of  Vermont  throughout  the 
centui-y  of  her  existence  has  been  one  of  which  her  sons  have  every 
I'eason  to  be  proud.  Your  sister  states  and  the  neighboring  prov- 
inces of  the  fair  dominion  which  stretches  along  your  border  will 
not  fail  to  be  represented  at  your  gathering,  and  the  congratulations 
of  the  Canadas  will  mingle  with  those  of  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire .  The  cause  of  peace  will  be  strengthened  by  such  a 
celebration.     To  me,  as  a  life  long  opponent  of  human  slavery. 


Bennington  Battle  Day.  133 

Vermont  has  been  a  subject  of  especial  interest.  Her  soil  has 
never  been  polluted  with  slavery,  and  her  sons  were  among  the  first 
to  oppose  the  encroachments  of  the  detestable  wrong  elsewhere. 
With  my  very  best  wishes  for  the  complete  success  of  your  cele- 
bration, 

I  am  very  truly  yours, 

JOHN  G.   WHITTIER. 


RALPH  WALDO  EMERSON. 

Concord,  Mass.,  July  25,  1877. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  acknowledge  the  kind  invitation  which  you  have 
sent  me  to  join  in  the  celebration  of  the  15th  and  16th  of  August 
at  Bennington.  If  I  were  a  few  years  younger  I  would  probably 
obey  your  request,  but  in  my  seventy-fifth  year  I  can  only  thank 
you  and  stay  at  home. 

R.  W.  EMERSON. 
To  Chas.  M.  Bliss,  Esq.,  Sec. 

CHIEF  JUSTICE  PIERPOINT  OP  VERMONT. 

Vergennes,  August  7,  1877. 
G.  M.  Bliss,  Esq.  : 

Dear  Sir  : — Your  note  of  invitation  in  the  name  of  the  Benning- 
ton battle  monument  association  was  received  this  morning.  It 
would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present  and  participate  in  the 
celebrations  at  Bennington  on  the  15th  and  16th  insts.  But  since 
my  return  from  the  session  of  the  supreme  court  at  St.  Albans,  last 
week,  I  have  not  been  well,  and  for  a  day  or  two  was  quite  ill. 
Years  of  experience  have  taught  me  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible  all 
excitement  and  fatigue  in  hot  weather,  and  especially  during  the 
month  of  August.  In  view  of  my  present  condition  and  what  I 
may  reasonably  anticipate  should  I  go  to  Bennington,  I  feel  com- 
pelled to  decline  the  very  kind  invitation  extended  to  me  by  your 

association. 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

J.  PIERPOINT. 


134  Bennington  Centennial. 

BISHOP  DE  GOESBRIAND. 

BuBLiNGTON,  August  7th,  1877. 
Secretary  Charles\M.  Bliss ; 

Sir  : — I  highly  appreciate  the  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  the 
invitation  of  your  association  to  be  present  as  its  guest  at  ihe  great 
celebrations  at  Bennington.  I  regret  that  previous  engagements 
will  prevent  me  from  participating  in  the  said  celebrations.  I 
return  cordial  thanks  to  your  honorable  association,  and  hope  that 
your  labor  will  be  crowned  with  full  success.  God  grant  that  the 
celebration  of  the  forthcoming  anniversaries  may  help  to  perpetu- 
ate and  increase  the  patriotism  of  the  sons  of  Vermont. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

L.  DE  GOESBRIAND. 

Bishop  of  Burlington,  Vt. 


/Sunday  Services.  135 


SUNDAY  SERVICES. 


The  services  in  the  several  churches  of  Bennington,  Sunday, 
August  12,  had  a  more  or  less  direct  reference  to  the  events 
to  be  commemorated  during  the  week,  and  it  is  therefore 
deemed  appropriate  to  here  make  a  brief  reference  thereto,  the 
materials  for  the  same  having  been  obtained  from  the  imper- 
fect reports  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day. 

At  the  "  banquet  tent,"  on  the  centennial  grounds,  religious 
services  were  held  before  the  First  Regiment  of  the  National 
Guard  of  Yermont — then  holding  their  annual  encampment  at 
Bennington — by  Rev.  Daniel  C.  Roberts,  rector  of  St.  Thomas 
(Episcopal  Church)  of  Brandon,  assisted  by  Rev.  George  C. 
Jones,  rector  of  St.  Peters  Church,  Bennington,  and  Rev. 
William  Walker  of  Herkimer,  N.  Y.;  the  sermon  being  deliv- 
ered by  the  chaplain,  from  the  words  found  in  the  twenty-first 
verse  of  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Luke  :  "  When  a  strong  man 
armed  keepeth  his  palace,  his  goods  are  in  peace." 

At  the  First  Church,  services  were  conducted  under  the 
direction  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings.  The  history  of 
the  church  having  recently  been  published,  no  historical  ser- 
mon was  delivered,  but  the  sons  of  two  former  pastors  were 
invited  to  preach.  In  the  morning,  after  the  usual  preliminary 
exercises,  a  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Frederick  G.  Clark, 
D.  D.,  of  New  York  City — son  of  Rev.  Daniel  A.  Clark,  pas- 
tor from  1826  to  1830— from  John  i :  29  :  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  ;"  and  in  the 
evening,  by  Rev.  Edward  T.  Hooker  of  Castleton — son  of 


136  Bennington  Centennial. 

Rev.  Edward  W.  Hooker,  D.  D.,  pastor  from  1832  to  1844— 
from  the  third  versejof  Jude  :  "  Beloved,  when  I  gave  all  dili- 
gence to  write  unto  you  of  the  common  salvation,  it  was  need- 
ful for  me  to  write  unto  you  and  exhort  you  that  ye  should 
earnestly  contend  for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints." 

The  Baptist  services  were  held  at  Free  Library  Hall,  where 
the  pastor.  Rev.  R.  M.  Luther,  after  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hil- 
liard,  preached  a  historical  sermon,  taking  for  his  text  the 
words  of  the  ninety-first  and  ninety-second  psalms. 

At  the  Methodist  church,  in  the  morning,  a  centennial  dis- 
course was  preached  by  Rev.  H.  L.  Grant,  the  pastor,  from 
Psalms  xxxiii :  12 :  "  Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  the 
Lord ;  and  the  people  whom  He  hath  chosen  for  His  own 
inheritance." 

At  St.  Peters  (Episcopal)  church,  the  services  were  conducted 
by  the  rector.  Rev.  George  G.  Jones,  assisted  by  Rev.  William 
Walker  of  Herkimer,  N.  T.,  the  sermon  being  by  Rev.  Daniel 
C.  Roberts  of  Brandon,  from  the  12th,  13th  and  14th  verses  of 
the  147th  Psalm  :  "  Praise  the  Lord,  O  Jerusalem  ;  praise  thy 
God,  O  Zion.  For  He  hath  strengthened  the  bars  of  thy 
gates  ;  He  hath  blessed  thy  children  within  thee.  He  maketh 
peace  in  thy  borders,  and  filleth  thee  with  the  finest  of  wheat." 

SERVICE  OP  PRAISE  AT  THE  FIRST  CHURCH. 

A  union  service  of  praise  was  held  at  the  old  First  Church, 
Bennington  Center,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  house 
being  filled  with  a  large  and  interested  audience.  The  interior 
of  the  church  edifice  was  tastefully  decorated.  The  pulpit  was 
covered  by  the  national  flag.  In  front  of  the  gallery,  which 
extends  around  three  sides,  were  flags  representing  all  nations, 
while  festooned  streamers  were  pendent  from  the  ceiling  to  the 
gallery  ;  and  about  equi-distant  between  the  pillars  supporting 


Sunday  Services.  137 

the  gallery,  were  hanging  baskets  of  potted  plants.  The  com- 
munion table  was  covered  with  boquets  of  flowers  tastefully 
arranged. 

The  services  opened  with  the  reading  of  a  portion  of  the 
forty-fourth  Psalm,  verses  one  to  eight,  as  follows : 

"  We  have  heard  with  our  ears,  O  God^  our  fathers  have  told  us, 
what  work  Thou  didst  in  their  days,  in  the  times  of  old. 

"  How  Thou  didst  drive  out  the  heathen  with  Thy  hand,  and 
plantedst  them ;  how  Thou  didst  afl3.ict  the  people,  and  cast  them  out. 

"  For  they  got  not  the  land  in  possession  by  their  own  sword, 
neither  did  their  own  ai*m  save  them :  but  Thy  right  hand,  and 
Thine  arm,  and  the  light  of  Thy  countenance,  because  Thou  hadst 
a  favour  unto  them. 

"  Thou  art  king,  O  God  :  command  deliverances  for  Jacob. 

"  Through  Thee  will  we  push  down  our  enemies  :  through  Thy 
name  will  we  tread  them  under  that  rise  up  against  us. 

"  For  I  will  not  trust  in  my  bow,  neither  shall  my  sword  save  me. 

"  But  Thou  hast  saved  us  from  our  enemies,  and  hast  put  them 
to  shame  that  hated  us. 

"  In  God  we  boast  all  the  day  long,  and  praise  Thy  name  for- 
ever.    Selah." 

Prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  Daniel  C.  Roberts  (Episco- 
pal) of  Brandon,  Chaplain  of  the  First  Regiment  National 
Guard  of  Yermont,  followed  by  an 

Address  of  Welcome  by  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings, 

pastor  of  the  church.  After  a  few  well  chosen  words  of  intro- 
duction, he  said,  substantially : 

I  welcome  you,  my  christian  friends,  in  the  name  of  the  First 
church,  and  invite  you  all  to  join  with  us  in  this  service  of  praise. 
It  would  be  very  appropriate  to  indulge  in  remembrances  on  this 
occasion,  but  our  brief  time  will  not  permit,  and  the  history  of  this 
church  is  very  well  known  to  most  if  not  all  of  us.  We  wish  you 
to  bring  the  memories  of  all  your  churches  with  you,  and  sing  the 


188  Bennington    Centennial. 

songs  of  praise  that  God  oflTers  blessings  to  us  all.  Nor  would  we 
confine  the  spirit  of  these  services  to  the  churches  in  Bennington. 
"We  would  remember  that  this  is  a  common  centennial,  and  all  the 
chui'ches  are  represented  in  this  service.  I  invite  you  to  pour  out 
your  voices  and  hearts.  Let  even  those  who  are  not  accustomed  to 
sing  join  with  us  now  ;  we  certainly  can  sing  if  we  have  the  right 
spirit  in  us. 

The  following  hymns,  were  sung  dm-ing  the  exercises,  the 
choii's  of  all  the  churches  in  town  being  present  by  invitation, 
and  participating  in  this  part  of  the  service  : 


America. 


1,120,  S.  H.  B.        1.    My  county,  'tis  of  thee, 

Sweet  land  of  liberty,  dke. 


Italian  Hymn. 
1,111,  8.  H.  B.        1.    God  bless  our  native  land ! 
Firm  may  she  ever  stand, 

Through  storm  and  night ; 
When  the  wild  tempests  rave, 
Ruler  of  winds  and  wave, 
Do  Thou  our  country  save 
By  Thy  great  might. 

2.    For  her  our  prayers  shall  rise 
To  God,  above  the  skies  ; 

On  Him  we  wait : 
Thou  who  art  ever  nigh. 
Guarding  with  watchful  eye. 
To  Thee  aloud  we  cry, 

God  save  the  State ! 

REMARKS  OF  REV.  MR.  PATRIDGE. 

Hev.  L.  C.  Patridge,  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at 
North  Bennington,  was  then  introduced,  and  spoke  substan- 
tially as  follows : 

This  is  a  solemn  place  to  me,  because  I  feel  that  we  stand  where 
the  members  of  this  church  stood  one  hundred  years  ago,  with  hearts 
trembling  with  hope  and  with  fear,  determined  to  do  the  best  they 


Sunday  Services.  189 

could,  trusting  in  the  Almighty  God  to  drive  back  the  strong 
invader  and  rescue  their  country  from  oppression's  fearful  power. 
But  my  heart  is  glad  to-day,  because  a  hundred  years  has  proved 
that  God  heard  their  prayer,  and  gave  them  wisdom,  firmness  and 
power  to  meet  their  foe  and  hurl  him  back  to  his  own  death.  I 
thank  God  that  the  cheek  of  virtue  need  not  tingle,  nor  the  heait 
of  truth  tremble  with  shame  at  the  remembrance  of  our  fathers' 
deeds.  We  thank  God  that  the  clearest  shining  of  a  hundred  years 
has  not  revealed  a  single  principle  for  which  our  fathers  died  of 
which  we  are  ashamed  to-day.  We  must  be  a  power  for  good  in 
the  homes  and  institutions  of  this  country  for  the  future  as  our 
fathers  have  been  in  the  past.  Vermont  was  the  first  child  of  the 
new  republic,  and  her  parents  have  been  proud  to  call  her  daughter. 
Her  influence  has  been  felt  as  an  inspiration  in  all  departments  of 
govei-nment,  and  in  all  other  nations  of  the  world.  We  thank  God 
that  we  still  have  faith  in  the  vii'tue  and  integrity  of  our  state.  She 
will  not  shrink  from  danger.  We  thank  God  that  we  stand  in  this 
holy  temple,  and  with  uncovered  heads  and  open  hearts  pledge  our- 
selves by  God's  grace  to  fulfill  the  expectations  of  the  nations  of 
the  world,  and  of  our  waiting  ancestors  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  in  all  future  history. 


Then  followed  the  hymns : 


Mear. 


859,  8.  H.  B.    1.     Let  saints  below  in  concert  sing 
With  those  to  glory  gone : 
For  all  the  servants  of  our  King, 
In  earth  and  heaven,  are  one. 

2.  One  family — we  dwell  in  Him — 

One  church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream — 
The  narrow  stream  of  death. 

3.  One  army  of  the  living  God, 

To  His  command  we  bow ; 
Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  crossing  now. 


140  Bennington   Centennial. 

4.    Ev'n  now,  by  faith,  we  join  our  hands 
With  those  that  went  before. 
And  greet  the  ransomed  blessed  bands 
Upon  th'  eternal  shore. 

Dundee. 
1,116,  8.  H.  B.    1.    O  Lord,  our  fathers  oft  have  told, 
In  our  attentive  ears, 
Thy  wonders  in  their  days  performed, 
And  elder  times  than  theirs. 

2.    For,  not  their  courage,  nor  their  eword 
To  them  salvation  gave  ; 
Nor  strength  that  from  unequal  force 
Their  fainting  troops  could  save. 

8.    Bat  Thy  right  hand  and  powerful  arm, 
Whose  succor  they  implored; 
Thy  presence  with  Thy  chosen  race, 
Who  Thy  great  name  adored. 

4,  As  Thee,  their  God,  our  fathers  owned, 

Thou  art  our  sovereign  King : 
Oh,  therefore,  as  Thou  did'st  to  them. 
To  us  deliverance  bring ! 

5.  To  thee  the  triumph  we  ascribe, 

From  whom  the  conquest  came ; 
In  God  we  will  rejoice  all  day. 
And  ever  bless  thy  name. 

REMARKS  OF  REV.  MR.  GRANT. 

The  next  speaker  was  the  Rev.  EL.  L.  Grant,  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Bennington,  who  spoke  substan- 
tially as  follows  : 

It  is  regarded  as  a  fact,  for  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  vouch, 
that  when  one  of  the  mightiest  battles  of  this  country  was  fought, 
there  was  a  sound  that  indicated  that  a  tinice  was  to  be  bad ;  and 
the  roar  of  artillery  and  rattle  of  musketry  were  hushed,  and  when 
lifted  the  cloud  of  the  smoke  of  battle,  the  fair  and  peaceful  sun 
shone  down  upon  the  contending  forces  as  they  met  at  the  brook 


Sunday  Services.  14l 

to  slake  their  thirst  while  terms  of  capitulation  were  being  made 
at  headquarters.  There,  stretching  their  hands  across  the  brook, 
they  greeted  each  other  and  shouted  for  joy  when  tidings  of  peace 
reached  their  ears.  This  is  a  day  of  truce,  when  the  business  man 
lays  aside  his  business  aaxieties  and  cares  ;  when  the  partisan  finds, 
as  he  looks  into  his  heart,  that  party  passion  is  hushed ;  when  the 
sectarian,  as  he  views  the  past,  remembers  that  there  is  but  one 
God ;  and  the  masses  of  the  people  of  these  New  England  states 
are  coming  hither,  or  their  representatives,  and  under  one  flag, 
under  the  inspiration  of  one  prayer,  pledge  anew  their  allegiance 
to  their  God  and  their  country.  Glory  to  God  on  high,  and  peace 
on  earth,  good  will  to  men  ;  and  our  hearts  open  with  joy  as  we 
look  into  the  mysterious  future,  and  behold  a  republic  founded  on 
the  principles  of  that  golden  rule  that  Jesus  enunciated  on  the 
mount. 


Then  followed  the  hymn 


1.  Praise  to  Qod,  immortal  praise, 
For  the  love  that  crowns  our  days ; 
Bounteous  source  of  every  joy, 

Let  thy  praise  our  tongues  employ  : 
All  to  thee,  our  God,  we  owe, 
Source  whence  all  our  blessings  flow. 

2.  All  the  blessings  of  the  field, 
All  the  stores  the  gardens  yield. 
Flocks  that  whiten  all  the  plain, 
Yellow  sheaves  of  ripen'd  grain  ; 
Lord,  for  these  our  souls  shall  raise 
Grateful  vows  and  solemn  praise. 

3.  Clouds  that  drop  their  fatt'ning  dews, 
Suns  that  genial  warmth  diffuse, 

All  the  plenty  summer  pours 
Autumn's  rich  o'erflowing  stores  ; 
Lord,  for  these  our  souls  shall  raise 
Grateful  vows  and  solemn  praise. 


Martin. 


142  Bennington  Centennial. 

4.    Peace  prosperity,  and  health, 
Private  bliss  and  public  wealth, 
Knowledge,with  its  gladd'ning  streams, 
Pure  religion's  holier  beams, 
Lord,  for  these  our  souls  shall  raise 
Grateful  vows  and  solemn  praise. 


REMARKS  OF  REV.  MR.  ARMSTRONG 

The  next  speaker  Avas  Kev.  C.  B.  Armstrong,  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Hindillsville,  who  said  : 

It  seems  very  appropriate  that  we  should  corae  together  this 
afternoon  to  sing  songs  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  that  God  who 
has  thus  far  brought  us  on  our  way.  During  the  past  God  has  been 
with  us,  and  it  is  right  and  proper  that  we  should  acknowledge  that 
wise  providence  that  has  so  guarded  and  kept  us.  The  blessings 
that  we  have  received  are  national,  political,  social  and  domestic ; 
and  above  all  we  should  thank  Him  for  spiritual  blessings,  The 
history  of  this  nation  depends  largely  upon  the  blessings  under 
God  which  the  blessed  gospel  of  Christ  has  secured  to  us.  The 
church  has  a  history  as  well  as  the  nation,  and  an  experience.  The 
last  century  has  given  the  church  an  experience  that  will  benefit  it 
in  the  future.  Throughout  all  the  history  of  the  church  there  have 
been  times  when  we  have  been  enabled  to  see  the  hand  of  God. 
During  the  darkest  days  it  has  been  enabled  to  look  to  God,  who 
will  bring  all  things  to  pass  for  the  good  of  His  children. 

The  following  hymn  was  then  rendered  ; 

Hamburgh. 

1,  Salvation  doth  to  God  belong. 

His  power  and  grace  shall  be  our  song ; 
From  Him  alone  all  mercies  flow. 
His  arm  alone  subdues  the  foe. 

2.  Then  praise  this  God,  who  bows  His  ear 
Propitious  u>  His  people's  prayer ; 

And  though  deliv'rance  He  may  stay, 
Yet  answers  still  in  His  own  day. 


Sunday  Services.  143 

3.  O  may  this  goodness  lead  our  land, 
Still  sav'd  by  Thine  Almighty  hand, 
The  tribute  of  its  love  to  bring 

To  Thee,  our  Saviour  and  our  King ; 

4.  Till  every  public  temple  raise 

A  song  of  triumph  to  Thy  praise ; 
And  every  peaceful,  private  home, 
To  Thee  a  temple  shall  become, 

REMARKS  OP  REV.  MR.  HENRY. 

Rev.  Foster  Henry,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church,  North 
Bennington,  then  spoke  substantially  as  follows  : 

The  mutual  relation  of  the  church  and  the  state  is  a  thought 
which  has  impressed  ray  mind  a  good  deal  since  I  came  into  this 
house  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  that  if  I  was  called  to  describe  the  influ- 
ence of  the  church  upon  this  community  and  upon  the  state  of 
Vermont,  and  also  the  state  itself  upon  the  church,  and  could  bal- 
ance these  two  and  show  the  conservative  influence  of  each  upon 
the  other,  I  should  be  able  to  realize  a  fact  that  would  be  valuable 
on  this  occasion.  I  will  say  here  that  I  am  amazed  in  this  presence, 
and  in  view  of  the  history  of  this  community.  I  am  amazed  at 
the  spirit  which  the  fathers  had  who  settled  this  town — members 
of  churches  and  citizens  who  stood  high  as  such  in  all  the  relations 
of  life — that  they  were  so  united  in  conserving  society  here,  and  in 
handing  it  down  to  posterity.  This  is  amazing  to  me  when  I  think 
of  the  character  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  community.  The 
speaker  said  that  he  felt  proud  of  Vermont,  and  closed  by  saying, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  church  should  be  conservative  in  its  influ- 
ences. Let  us  then  in  the  future,  as  members  of  christian  churches, 
ever  be  ready  to  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  lost  by  our  eflforts. 

He  was  followed  by  the  singing  of  hymn  1,114,  S.  H.  B. : 

Nuremburg. 
1.     Swell  the  anthem,  raise  the  song ; 
Praises  to  our  God  belong ; 
Saints  and  angels !  join  to  sing 
Praises  to  the  heavenly  King. 


144  Bennington   Centennial. 

2.    Blessings  fi'om  His  liberal  hand 
Flow  around  this  happy  laud : 
Kept  by  Him,  no  foes  annoy  ; 
Peace  and  freedom  we  enjoy. 

S.    Here  beneath  a  virtuous  sway, 
May  we  cheerfully  obey  ; 
Never  feel  oppression's  rod. 
Ever  own  and  worship  God. 

4.    Hark !  the  voice  of  nature  sings 
Praises  to  the  King  of  kings ; 
Let  us  join  the  choral  song. 
And  the  grateful  notes  prolong. 

REMARKS  OF  REV.  MR.  READ. 

Rev.  E.  G.  E-ead,  pastor  of  the  2d  Congregational  church, 
Bennington,  spoke  briefly.  He  said  that  he  had  learned  one 
thing  during  the  afternoon,  and  that  was  that  the  people  of 
Bennington  could  sing.  He  was  glad  to  find  it  out,  and  hoped 
that  this  congregational  style  of  singing  would  be  kept  up  in 
the  future.  He  referred  briefly  to  that  praise  meeting  which 
Paul  and  Silas  held  long  ago  in  the  Roman  prison,  and  urged 
his  hearers  to  rise  up  body  and  soul  and  enter  into  this  glori- 
ous service  of  praise. 

Then  foUowed  hymn  523,  S.  H.  B. : 

Lenox. 

1.  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow, 

The  gladly  solemn  sound  ! 
Let  all  the  nations  know, 

To  earth's  remotest  bound  : 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come ; 
Return,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home. 

2.  Jesus,  our  great  High  Priest, 

Hath  full  atonement  made  : 
Ye  weary  spirits,  rest, 

Ye  mournful  souls  be  glad : 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come  ; 
Return,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home. 


Sunday  Services.  145 

Exalt  the  Lamb  of  God, 

The  sin-atoning  lamb; 
Redemption  in  His  blood 

To  all  the  world  proclaim : 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come, 
Beturn,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home. 


4.    The  gospel  trumpet  hear, — 

The  news  of  heavenly  grace ; 
And,  saved  from  earth  appear 
Before  your  Saviour's  face  ; 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come ; 
Keturn,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home. 

The  Bingin^  was  followed  by  an  address  from  the  Rev.  Geo. 
G.  Jones,  rector  of  St.  Peters  (Episcopal)  church,  Bennington. 
He  said  that  we  stood  under  the  shadow  of  a  great  event.  He 
would  ask  the  Supreme  Ruler  to  accept  this  tribute  of  praise. 
We  would  not  forget  the  heroes  of  these  great  days,  but  would' 
ever  cherish  their  memories,  and  preserve  the  undimmed  lustre 
of  their  names,  and  be  thankful  that  while  they  nobly  fought, 
they  are  now  at  rest  with  God. 

"  Coronation  "  was  then  sung  by  the  choir : 

1.  All  hail,  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall : 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem. 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

2.  Crown  Him,  ye  martyrs  of  our  God, 

Who  from  His  altar  call ; 
Extol  the  stem  of  Jesse's  rod, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

3.  Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe, 

On  this  terrestrial  ball, 
To  Him  all  majesty  ascribe, 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all  I 

10 


14:6  Bennington   Centennial. 

4.    Oh,  that  with  yonder  sacred  throng, 
We  at  His  feet  may  fall ! 
We'll  join  the  everlasting  song. 
And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 


EEMARKS  OF  REV.  MR.  LUTHER. 

Th3  last  speaker  was  Rev.  R.  M.  Luther,  pastor  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  Bennington,  who  was  very  brief  in  his  remarks. 
He  said  that  he  had  but  a  single  thought  to  add  to  those  which 
had  been  suggested  by  the  previous  speakers,  and  that  thought 
was,  that  a  nation's  greatest  danger  was  not  from  foreign  foes. 
If  the  heart  of  the  nation  be  corrupt ;  if  the  very  soul  of  its 
life  has  been  eaten  out  by  evil  and  corruption  and  crime,  we 
may  look  in  vain  for  the  hero  in  the  hour  of  the  nation's  peril. 
The  cure  for  all  perils  of  national  life  is  to  be  found  in  the 
ever  blessed  gospel  of  Christ. 

Then  were  sung  five  stanzas  from  Mrs.  Mason's  "  Centennial 
Hymn,"  closing  with  the  Doxology,  as  follows : 

Old  Hundredth. 

1,    One  hundred  years  !  a  nation's  joys, 
Resound  along  the  prospered  way, 
That  Stark  and  his  Green  Mountain  Boys. 
Made  ours  one  hundred  years  to-day. 

6.    God  bless  the  standard  of  the  free ! 
God  bless  the  peaceful,  happy  land, 
Our  fathers'  God  !  we  lift  to  Thee 
Our  praise  for  gifts  on  every  hand. 

8.    And  for  our  country's  honored  head. 
Our  reverent  lips  ask  this  alone  : 
That  Thou  wilt  guide  his  feet  to  tread 
In  footprints  of  our  Washington. 


Sunday  Services.  147 

11.  Our  counselors  with  wisdom  fill ; 

Let  parties  die  ;  let  factions  cease ; 
Let  all  men  seek  with  single  will 
Our  country's  unity  and  peace. 

12.  Then  not  in  vain  the  patriot  blood 

Was  poured  upon  the  crimsoned  clay, 
Where  side  by  side  our  fathers  stood, 
One  hundred  years  ago  to-day. 

Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow  1 
Praise  Him,  all  creatures  here  below  ! 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host  1 
Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost ! 

The  exercises  were  closed  by  the  Benediction,  pronounced 
by  the  E.ev.  Isaac  Jennings,  pastor  of  the  church. 


148  Bennington   Centennial. 


ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  VERMONT  EDITORSf  AND  PUBLISH- 
ERS' ASSOCIATION,  AT  BENNINGTON,  AUGUST  14,  1877,  BY 
ELIAKIM  P.  WALTON  OF  MONTPELIER 


Light !  more  light !  is  the  constant  ciy  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave ;  light  for  all  things  in  earth  and  heaven  ;  light  for  the  eyes, 
the  mind,  the  soul.  Doubtless  God  can  create  a  world  of  darkness, 
and  people  it  with  eyeless  creatures,  as  down  in  the  depths 
of  the  Mammoth  Gave  of  Kentucky,  where  no  ray  of  sun- 
light has  ever  pierced.  He  has  created  eyeless  fish ;  but  the 
record  is,  that  in  the  divine  design  for  man,  light  was  the 
first  element  that  was  necessary,  even  for  omnipotent  power,  in 
working  out  that  design.  "  And  God  said,  Let  there  be  light :  and 
there  was  light.  And  God  saw  the  light,  that  it  was  good :  and 
God  divided  the  light  from  the  darkness."  This  was  the  first  act 
in  that  divine  drama  which  will  not  be  completed  until  there  shall  be 
"  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  where  there  shall  be  no  night," 
and  the  dwellers  there  shall  "  need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the 
Bun,  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light."  Light,  therefore,  was 
the  beginning,  and  is  destined  to  be  the  end,  of  God's  work  for 
man.  Without  light  the  earth  would  have  had  no  heat ;  no  vege- 
tation for  the  support  of  man  or  beast ;  no  beauty  of  sky  and  land- 
scape, of  form  and  flower  ;  no  beauty  that  man  should  desire  it — 
but  utter  desolation.  Most  fitly,  therefore,  "  outer  darkness  "  was 
Christ's  synonym  for  hell.  Since,  then,  God  Himself  gave  to  light 
the  first  place  and  the  highest  dignity  in  the  order  of  his  own 
work,  and  is  at  last  to  make  it  His  greatest  glory — for  God  Him- 
self is  the  light  and  glory  of  heaven — it  is  not  presumptuous  to 
say  that  the  light-givers  of   the  earth  are  entitled  to  stand  in  the 


Mr.    Walton'' s  Address.  149 

first  rank  among  all  orders  of  men,  and  to  be  honored  by  all,  pre- 
cisely to  the  degree  in  which  they  honor  themselves  in  the  noble 
professions  into  which  they  have  been  called. 

And  who  are  the  light-givers  ?  Of  old  they  were  mainly  the 
prophets,  priests,  apostles — historians,  orators,  philosophers,  poets — 
Christ  being  the  greatest  of  teachers,  the  highest  of  priests,  "  the 
light  of  the  world.  "  In  our  day  they  are  the  teachers  of  all  true 
knowledge,  the  preachers  of  all  truths,  and,  I  boldly  add,  the 
heralds  of  good  tidings  to  all  men — the  editors,  publishers,  and 
printers — whose  duty  it  is  to  gather  up  all  that  is  good  from  all 
light-givers,  and  send  it,  as  the  sun  sends  its  rays,  into  every  corner 
of  the  earth,  refreshing  and  gilding  all  it  touches,  and  gladdening 
all  who  behold  it.  We  have  been  wont,  after  the  best  authors, 
rulers  and  statesmen,  to  give  the  highest  honors  to  the  learned 
professions — the  teachers,  the  preachers,  the  lawers,  and  the  physi- 
cians :  but  pray  tell  me  what  profession  needs  so  much  learning  as 
that  of  the  editor  ?  His  field  is  the  world ;  nay,  it  embraces  both 
worlds ;  it  covers  priest-crafl  and  king-craft — all  the  professions — 
all  arts — all  sciences — all  literature — in  short,  all  knowledge, 
human  and  divine — all  phases  of  practical  life,  all  fancies  of  the 
ideal,  and  all  promises  of  the  eternal.  The  editor  should  be  a  walk- 
ing dictionary  and  encyclopcedia  combined :  his  head  should  con- 
tain all  the  libraries  within  his  reach;  his  judgment  should  be 
perfect,  his  heart  pui-e,  his  character  spotless,  and  his  hand  apt  in 
penning  the  loftiest  thoughts  to  instruct,  and  the  lightest  trifles  to 
amuse.  Many  editors  have  reached  nearly  up  to  this  ideal ;  many 
more  have  approached  it ;  and  I  am  glad  to  believe  that  the  general 
tendency  is  in  the  right  direction.  Journalism  has  come  to  be  rec- 
ognized, in  some  of  the  colleges,  as  a  high  profession,  and  within 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  the  colleges  of  Vermont  have  sent 
out  men  who  have  adorned  it.  Raymond  and  Spaulding  were 
giants  among  the  editors  of  New  York  city,  and  both  were  gradu- 
ates of  the  University  of  Vermont ;  and  to  the  credit  of  the  practi. 
cal  printers,  who  have  had  no  advantages  of  high  school  or  collegje, 
I  have  only  to  name  Horace  Greeley. 


150  Bennington  Centennial. 

This  brings  me  to  the  practical  printers,  from  the  highest  to  the 
lowest,  as  light-givers — from  the  foreman  down  through  the  com- 
positors, and  pressmen  and  women,  to  the  smutty  little  "  devil "  of 
the  printing-office.  They  are  all  light-givers,  and  pre-eminently  so. 
The  statesman,  the  preacher,  the  jurist,  the  author,  the  editor  and 
the  publisher  are  capable  of  being  great  lights  in  the  world,  but 
only  through  the  practical  printer.  Christ  addressed  barely  a  few 
thousands  of  people,  while  by  the  practical  printer  He  has  spoken 
to  millions  upon  millions,  and  will  speak  to  them  until  all  shall  have 
had  the  glad  news  of  salvation.  "Without  the  printers,  the  orator, 
the  statesman,  the  jurist,  no  matter  how  great,  could  address  at 
most  but  a  few  thousands  of  people ;  the  poet  and  the  historian 
could  only  go  from  house  to  house  and  inn  to  inn  and  repeat  their 
tales,  as  did  Homer  and  the  troubadours,  or  write  out  a  few  copies 
and  deposit  them  in  libraries  ;  but  the  printers  make  all  the  world 
their  audience.  The  publishers  and  practical  printers,  then,  for 
their  gi*eat  usefulness,  are  fairly  entitled  to  stand  in  high  estimation 
by  the  sidejof  the  authors  and  editors,  whose  works  they  issue  to 
the  world,  crystalized  and  pei*petuated  in  the  printed  page,  to 
instruct  or  amuse  not  merely  the  people  of  their  own  day,  but  of 
many  future  generations. 

On  another  occasion,  this  theme  may  be  profitably  developed,  by 
some  one  more  competent  than  I  am,  into  an  elaborate  discussion 
of  the  dignity,  the  duties  and  the  responsibilities  of  the  professions 
which  this'Association  represents.  I  have  suggested  it  for  your 
reflection,  hopeful  that  your  own  consideration  of  it  will  lead  you 
to  higher  aims,  a  better  improvement  of  your  gi-eat  opportunities, 
and  a  better  discharge  of  all  your  duties  to  the  public. 

And  now  I  turn  to  a  topic  more  pertinent  to  this  historical  occa- 
sion, to  wit,  the  earliest  printers  in  Vermont.  They  were  not  large 
and  brilliant  lights,  but  as  a  candle  set  on  a  bnsheL  Their  little 
light  went  a  little  way,  for  there  were  but  few  people  then,  even 
within  the  limits  of  the  whole  state,  and  no  mail  routes,  so  that 
the  subscription-lists  must  necessarily  have  been  small.  Neverthe- 
less the  first  light-givers  were  very  useful  to  the  state,  which  had 
been  compelled  to  go  elsewhere  for  the  state-printing ;  and  useful 


Mr.    Walton'' s  Address.  151 

also  to  the  people  within  their  reach,  in  giving  the  news  of  the  day, 
and  discussing,  by  our  then  best  writers,  subjects  of  the  gi'eatest 
public  importance.  But  more  largely  they  were  useful  in  stimula- 
ting a  taste  for  reading,  and  a  demand  for  more  printers,  books, 
and  newspapers,  so  that  in  this  centennial  year,  the  profession  in 
Vermont  ranks  fully  as  high  as  in  any  other  section  of  the  country 
outside  of  the  metropolitan  cities.  Let  us  then  accord  due  honor 
to  the  first  adventurer  in  the  field  of  Vermont  journalism. 

The  first  printing  press  in  Vermont  was  probably  brought  by 
Samuel  Gale,  who  was  mai'ried  in  Brattleborough  in  1773,  a  sur- 
veyor under  New  York  in  that  year,  and  appointed  clerk  of  Cum- 
berland (now  Windham)  county  court  in  1774.  He  was  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  well  educated,  a  gentleman  in  manners,  and 
a  Tory  in  politics.  As  clerk  of  the  court,  he  of  course  fought  on 
the  court  side  in  the  Westminster  massacre  of  1775,  and  for  that 
he  was  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  the  Whigs,  and  his  property 
was  confiscated  by  Vermont.  In  fact  he  was  so  long  in  prison, 
under  different  authorities,  that  he  abandoned  the  country  on  his 
release  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  took  office  in  Canada,  and 
subsequently  a  pension  from  the  British  government.  The  evi- 
dence that  he  brought  the  first  printing  press  into  Vermont  is 
meagre,  yet  tolerably  satisfactory.  The  "  writing  office,"  (so  runs 
the  record)  "of  one  Pale"  at  Westminster,  was  confiscated  to  the 
use  of  the  state  by  the  legislature  in  1780.  The  name  of  Pale  does 
not  appear  in  Thomas'  History  of  Printing,  neither  does  that  of 
Samuel  Gale,  he  not  being  a  printer ;  but  it  is  obvious  that  the  P 
instead  of  the  G  is  a  natural  clerical  error.  There  is  ample  evi- 
cence  that  Gale  was  at  Westminster  in  1774-5,  as  clerk  of  the  court ; 
that  he  was  a  man  of  learning,  ambitious  of  authorship  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1772,  and  actually  an  author  subsequently  in  England.  The 
most  reasonable  inference  is,  that  Gale  brought  printing  materials 
with  him  to  Vermont,  with  the  intention  of  using  them,  though  by 
reason,  possibly,  of  his  short  residence  in  the  state  and  a  lack  of 
printers,  there  is  no  evidence  that  these  materials  were  ever  used 
by  him. 


152  Bennington  Centennial. 

The  next  press,  bi'ought  for  the  use  of  Vermont,  was  established 
at  Dresden,  now  Hanover,  N.  H.,  in  1778,  by  Timothy  Green  and 
Judah  Paddock  Spooner.  In  both  Thomas'  History  and  Zadock 
Thompson's  Vermont,  it  is  stated  that  they  set  up  their  press  at 
Westminster  in  that  year ;  but  Thomas  subsequently  stated,  that 
they  first  went  to  Hanover,  printed  a  newspaper  for  a  short  time, 
and  afterward  removed  to  Westminster  and  pi-inted  the  first  newspa- 
per in  Vermont.  June  11,  1778,  Dresden  and  Hanover  (now  one 
town),  and  other  New  Hampshire  towns  were  annexed  to  Vermont, 
and  in  October,  1778,  Dresden,  Hanover  and  nine  other  New  Hamp- 
shire towns  were  represented  in  the  Vermont  legislatm*e,  and  on 
the  second  day  of  the  session  it  was  "  Voted  and  resolved  that 
Judah  Paddock  and  Alden  Spooner  be,  and  are  hereby,  appointed 
printers  for  the  General  Assembly  of  this  state."  A  proclamation  of 
Governor  Chittenden,  dated  June  3,  1779,  was  "  Printed  by  Judah 
Paddock  and  Alden  Spooner,  printers  to  the  Genei'al  Assembly  of 
the  state  of  Vermont."*  The  first  union  of  J^ew  Hampshire  towns 
with  Vermont  was  dissolved  in  February,  1779,  and  it  is  therefore 
probable  that  the  brothers  Spooner  removed  their  office  from  Dres- 
den to  Westminster  in  that  yeai',  and  that  Timothy  Green  had  taken 
the  place  of  Alden  Spooner.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain 
that  the  first  newspaper  within  the  present  limits  of  Vermont  was 
issued  at  Westminster,  February  12,  1781.  I  will  describe  it  from 
a  copy  in  the  library  of  the  Vermont  Historical  Society  : 

The  sheet  measures  17  x  12 J  inches — Isaiah  Thomas  called  it  pot 
paper.  Alas !  how  many  printers  and  pi-inting  offices  in  Vermont 
have  since  *'  gone  to  pot !" — the  type  to  the  smelter  and  refiner,  to 
come  out  anew,  brilliant  as  silver,  to  print  the  wisdom  that  is  more 
precious  than  gold  ;  and  the  poor  printers,  I  would  gladly  hope  with 

•The  sermon  of  Rev.  Aaron  Hutchinson,  preached  before  the  (Jonvenlion  a^ 
Windsor,  July  2,  1777,  was  prepared  for  the  press  September  6,  1777.  It  waf 
printed  at  Dresden,  "  by  Judah  Paddock  and  Alden  Spooner,"  but  when  does  not 
appear.  The  first  book  I  have  met  with,  printed  at  Dresden  with  a  date,  is  an 
English  grammar  by  Hon.  Abel  Curtis  of  Norwich,  "printed  by  J.  P.  <fc  A^ 
Spooner,  1779."  It  is  claimed  that  this  was  the  first  English  grammar  written 
and  printed  in  this  country. 


Mr.    Walton's  Address.  163 

Benjamin  Franklin,  to  "  appear  once  more  in  a  new  and  more  elegant 
edition,  revised  and  corrected  by  the  author,"  I  read  the  title : 
"  Vol.  1,  Number  8.  Ihe  Vermont  Gazette  or  Green  Mountain 
JPost  Boy.     Monday,  April  2,  1781. 

"  Pliant  as  Reeds,  where  Streams  of  Freedom  glide  ; 
Firm  as  the  Hills,  to  stem  Oppression's  Tide. 

♦'  Westminster,  Printed  by  Judah  Paddock  Spooner  &  Timothy 
Green."  I  will  state  its  contents,  and  first  the  class  most  profitable 
to  the  publishers — the  advertisements :  there  are  four,  viz.  a  notice 
of  an  application  for  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  town  of 
Dorset ;  a  commissioners'  notice ;  a  promise  of  reward  for  settlers 
in  the  town  of  Killington  (now  Sherburne)  ;  and  the  standing  adver- 
tisement in  every  Vermont  newspaper  for  many  years,  of  "  Cash 
given  for  any  kind  of  Cotton  and  Linen  Rags."  Next,  I  turn  to 
the  editorial,  eight  lines  in  all,  announcing  an  adjourned  session  of 
the  General  Court  at  Windsor,  meaning  the  Legislature,  to  consider 
a  proposed  union  of  a  large  pai't  of  New  Hampshire  with  Vermont ; 
and  a  report  of  the  capture  of  General  Arnold  with  all  his  troops. 
And  now  for  the  news:  two  columns  and  a  half  are  given  to  revo- 
lutionary war  news,  and  three  columns  to  foreign  news,  the  last 
being  more  than  can  be  found  ordinarily  in  any  number  of  a  Ver- 
mont newspaper  of  the  present  day.  On  the  fourth  page  is  a  "  Par- 
nassian Packet,"  containing  an  ode  on  charity ;  and  I  complete  the 
list  of  contents  by  noticing  a  well  written  political  article  by  a  con- 
tributor, the  first  of  a  series  against  the  annexation  of  part  of  New 
Yoi'k  to  Vermont,  which  was  then  proposed  in  Western  Vermont, 
as  a  balance  to  the  New  Hampshire  territory  that  was  coveted  by 
Eastern  Vermont  And  this  reminds  me  of  a  prominent  feature  in 
the  early  newspapers  of  Vermont  to  which  I  will  barely  advert. 
The  editors,  Matthew  Lyon  excepted,  paid  little  attention  to  politi- 
cal matters,  leaving  these  to  their  contributors,  among  whom  were 
the  ablest  men  in  the  state — the  Aliens,  Chipmans,  Bradleys  and 
Robinsons ;  and  in  both  politics  and  literature,  contributions  were 
frequent  from  Nathaniel  Niles,  Chief  Justice  Tyler,  James  Elliot, 
Thomas  Green  Fessenden  the  poet,  and  probably  on  rare  occasions 
from  Chief  Justice  Prentiss,  who  was  an  associate  and  friend  of 


164:  Bennington    Centennial. 

Thomas  Green  Fessenden.  This  list  of  contributors  can  be  consid- 
erably extended,  proving  that  the  best  minds  in  the  state  were 
zealous  for  the  public  good,  and  some  of  them,  doubtless,  for  their 
own. 

Another  remarkable  feature  in  the  early  Vermont  newspa- 
pers, growing  partly  out  of  the  lack  of  other  matter,  was  the 
republication  in  full  of  oflBcial  reports  and  other  public  docu- 
ments, and  voluminous  political  works.  Among  these  I  remember 
one,  on  American  politics,  by  Anne  Robert  James  Turgot,  an  emi- 
nent statesman  of  France,  written  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Price 
of  England,  who  was  also  very  eminent  as  a  political  writer,  and  so 
highly  esteemed  that  Congress  invited  him  to  become  a  citizen  of 
this  country.  Turgot's  pamphlet  provoked  a  volume  by  John 
Adams,  in  defense  of  the  American  constitutions :  a  fact  which 
amply  proves  that  the  early  Vermont  printers  exhibited  a  very  strong 
light  to  the  people — fed  them  with  strong  meat  rather  than  milk 
for  babes.  They  permitted  the  ablest  writers  to  speak  for  them- 
selves. I  have  really  doubted  whether  the  old  and  comparatively 
small  newspapers  of  Vermont  were  not,  for  the  two  peculiarities 
which  I  have  named,  better  teachers  in  public  matters  than  the  far  more 
pretentious  newspapers  of  our  own  day.  The  prevailing  fashion 
now  is,  to  filter  everything  through  the  editor's  brain ;  and  if  the 
water  be  crystal,  and  the  brain  foul — what  ?  I  suggest,  therefore, 
to  the  editors  before  me — of  course  without  intimating  that  their 
brains  are  foul — whether  an  occasional  exchange  of  editorials  for 
selections  of  a  solid  sort  will  not  give  better  bread  and  wine  to  your 
hungry  patrons,  and  real  relief  to  your  over- worked  brains.  Right 
over  against  the  inclination  of  most  editors,  high  and  humble,  to 
fill  their  columns  with  original  matter,  T  put  this  proverb :  "Seest 
thou  a  man  that  is  hasty  in  his  words  ?  there  is  more  hope  of  a 
fool  than  of  him."  Certainly  I  believe  that  we  can  oflen  show 
more  wisdom  by  selecting  the  words  of  others  than  by  multiplying 
our  own. 

To  Connecticut  is  Vermont  indebted  for  the  first  governor,  the 
fii-st  most    ninent  jurist,  the  first  printers,  and  the  first  newspaper ; 


Mr.    Walton's  Address.  155 

and  to  Massachusetts  for  the  second  governoi',  the  second  newspa- 
per, and  for  the  Connecticut  printers  who  first  came  to  Vei'mont. 
Tinaothy  Green  the  third  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  was  a 
descendant  of  Samuel  Green  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  who 
was  the  immediate  successor  to  the  first  printer  in  New  England, 
and  the  ancestor  of  a  long  line  of  printers  and  publishers.  To  this 
Timothy  Green  is  due  the  honor  of  originating  the  first  printing 
oflSce  and  newspaper  in  Vermont,  although  he  was  never  a  citizen 
of  the  state,  but  sent  his  brothers  in-law,  Judah  Paddock  Spooner 
and  Alden  Spooner,  to  run  the  office.  The  Spooners  were  descend- 
ants of  V/illiam  Spooner,  who  was  indentured  as  an  apprentice  to 
John  Holmes,  gentleman,  at  New  Plymouth  (now  Plymouth), 
Massachusetts,  in  March,  1637 ;  so  that  if  Connecticut  was  our 
mother,  the  good  old  Bay  State  was  our  prolific  grandmother. 
Prolific  I  say,  for  among  her  descendants  in  Vermont  were  Judah 
Paddock  Spooner  of  Westminster,  Windsor  and  Fair  Haven ; 
Alden  Spooner  of  Windsor  ;  Jeduthan  Spooner  of  Burlington  and 
St.  Albans  ;  Wyman  Spooner  of  Royalton  and  Chelsea,  who  has 
recently  been  honored  as  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Wisconsin ; 
Anthony  Haswell  of  Bennington  ;  and  a  pretty  long  list  of  gradu- 
ates from  the  office  of  Isaiah  Thomas  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
These  and  others  of  the  early  printers  and  publishers  of  Vermont 
were  all  useful  men  in  their  day — lights  in  the  little  circles  in  which 
they  dwelt — several  of  them  honored  by  the  people,  notably  Mat- 
thew Lyon  and  two  of  the  Spooners — and  doubtless  all  of  them 
were  worthy  of  higher  honors  and  richer  rewards  than  usually  fal 
to  the  craft,  even|  in  this  day  of  greater  light,  deeper  culture,  and 
higher  civilization.  But  let  us  not  complain  ;  it  is  honor  enough 
for  any  man  to  be  a  good  editor  or  a  good  printer,  since  the  pro- 
fession has  the  widest  of  all  fields  of  honorable  labor,  and  the 
noblest  of  all  ends — that  of  doing  good. 


166  Bennington  Centennial. 

THE    VERMONT    CENTENNIAL    COMMIS- 
SION. 


President. 
EDWARD  J.  PHELPS. 

Yice-Presidents. 

Hiland  Hall,  Bennington. 
Ryland  Fletcher,  Cavendish. 
Frederick  Holbrook,  Brattleboro. 
J.  Gregory  Smith,  St.  Albans. 
Paul  Dillingham,  Waterbury. 
John  B.  Page,  Rutland. 
Geo.  W.  Hendee,  Morristown. 
John  W,  Stewart,  Middlebury. 
Julius  Converse,  Woodstock. 
Asahel  Peck,  Jericho. 
W.  H.  H.  Bingham,  Stowe. 
Burnam  Martin,  Chelsea. 
Geo.  N.  Dale,  Island  Pond. 
W.  W.  Grout,  Barton. 
Jed  P.  Ladd,  Alburgh. 

Secretary. 
CHARLES  M.  BLISS. 

Treasurer. 
MILO  C.  HULING. 


Centennial   Coinmission. 


167 


Executive  Committee. 

Henry  G.  Root,  Bennington. 
Milo  0.  HuHng,  Bennington, 
A.  B.  Valentine,  Bennington. 
Geo.  A.  Merrill,  Rutland. 
Carroll  S.  Page,  Hyde  Park. 


Joseph  Battell, 
J.  Boynton, 
John  Dwyer, 
Loyal  D.  Eldridge, 
George  W.  Grandey, 
H.  C.  Hunt, 
H.  C.  Johnson, 
Henry  Lane, 
William  P.  Nash, 
Julius  North, 
Alfred  M.  Roscoe, 
E.  S.  Stowell, 
A.  S.  Tracy, 


Amos  Aldrich, 
Enos  Adams, 
William  B.  Arnold, 
George  J.  Bond, 
B.  E.  Brownell, 
William  Burgess, 
Orrin  Bates, 
Chas.  H.  Barber, 
Nathan  Bottum, 
H.  B.  Bottum, 
Austin  E.  Bartlett, 
J.  K.  Bachelder, 
J.  E.  Buck, 


ADDISON  COUNTY. 

Charles  Burt, 
G.  R.  Chapman, 

E.  S.  Dana, 
Albert  A  Fletcher, 
A.  C,  Harris, 
Calvin  B.  Hulbert, 
L.  E.  Knapp, 
Joel  H.  Lucia, 

D.  W.  Nash, 
John  Pierpoint, 
Edward  Seymour, 
James  M.  Slade, 

F.  E.  Woodbridge. 

BENNINGTON  COUNTY. 

Samuel  F.  Harris, 
Isaac  Jennings, 
Thomas  Jewett, 
J.  R.  Judson, 
Samuel  Keyes, 
Duane  L.  Kent, 
Edward  Kinsley, 
A.  P.  Lyman, 
Levi  A.  Lincoln, 
J.  V.  D.  S.  Merrill, 
Thomas  McDaniels, 
William  P.  Mattison, 
J.  Montgomery, 


158 


Bennington  Centennial, 


E.  B.  Burton, 
John  W.  Beebe, 
W.  H.  Beebe, 
E.  G.  Bacon, 
Hiram  Bingham, 
James  Bullock, 
Charles  M.  Bliss, 
Henry  E.  Bradford, 
G.  W.  Bradley, 
Asahel  Booth, 
Hemy  Booth, 
George  Benton, 
Samuel  H.  Brown, 
Franklin  Blackmer, 
Harmon  Canfield, 
A.  P.  Childs, 
E.  S.  Chandler, 
Mason  S.  Colburn, 
John  V.  Carney, 
Sidney  Colviu, 
Ezra  Crawford, 
Hiram  Cole, 
J.  Halsey  Cushman, 
Eugene  O.  Cole, 
L.  B.  Chandler, 
Dav^id  Carpenter, 
Frederick  G.  Clark, 
Barber  Chase, 
Charles  E.  Dewey, 
Elijah  Dewey, 
Elijah  Downs, 
G.  K.  Davis, 
G.  W.  Farwell, 
Elijah  D.  Fillmore, 
Austin  Fenn, 
Abram  B.  Gardner, 


Norman  Millington, 
John  L,  Mason, 
Silas  Mason, 
Loveland  Munson, 
James  B.  Meacham, 
A.  L.  Miner, 

E.  N.  S.  Morgan, 
L.  P.  Norton, 
Daniel  O'Donnell, 

F.  H.  Orvis, 
Abraham  G.  Parker, 
Trenor  W.  Park, 
Augustus  H.  Potter, 
Henry  J.  Potter, 

J.  E.  Prest, 
Henry  W.  Putnam, 
Milo  Pierce, 
I.  F.  Paddock, 
John  E.  Pratt, 
Daniel  Robinson, 
George  W.  Robinson, 
Alfred  Robinson, 
Moses  Robinson, 
F.  Q.  Robinson, 
H.  G.  Root, 
Lyman  Rogers, 
Milo  G.  Remington, 
George  Rockwood, 
Daniel  Romaine, 
W.  Bradley  Randall, 
Benjamin  R.  Sears, 
Dwight  Riddle, 
Samuel  B.  Sanford, 
C.  R.  Sanford, 
Olin  Scott, 
S.  S.  Scott, 


Centennial   Commission. 


159 


Solomon  W.  Gardner, 
Samuel  J.  Gardner, 
J.  H.  Guild, 
A.  P.  Graham, 
F.  W.  Goodall, 
Dwight  P.  Gates, 
A.  J.  Gray, 
Frank  Guiltinane, 
Luther  R.  Graves, 
Eben  Graves, 
Rudolph  Goldsmith, 
R.  B.  Godfrey, 
Irving  E.  Gibson, 
Seth  B.  Hunt, 
Milo  C.  Huling, 
A.  W.  Harwood, 
A.  M.  Huling, 
Solomon  Howard, 
James  R.   Houghton, 
Chas.  E-  Houghton, 
P.  T.  Hubbell, 
Jerome  J.  Hill, 
Henr>  D.  Hall, 
John  V.  Hall, 
'Thomas  H.  Hall, 
Reuben  T.  Hurd, 
William  E.  Hawks, 
J.  C.  Houghton, 
Michael  Healy, 
John  Healy, 

E.  D.  Blodgett, 
James  D.  Bell, 
Henry  C.  Belden, 
Henry  Chase, 
C.  M.  Chase, 


D.  K,  Simonds, 
Tarrant  Sibley, 
Clark  Stone, 
P.  M.  Sanders, 
Sidney  B.  Squires, 
George  H.  Simmons, 
J.  N.  Scranton, 
Asa  D.  Stewart, 
David  F.  Squires, 
John  T.  Shurtleff, 
Charles  W.  Swift, 
A.  H.  Tucker, 
Dwight  Taylor, 
Charles  Thatcher, 

E.  M.  Thompson, 
A.  B.  Valentine, 
John  W.  Vail, 
Marcus  Whipple, 
Thomas  White, 
C.  C.  Wheeler, 
Pliny  Wright, 
Frank  C.  White, 
Charles  E.  Welling, 
Fernando  West, 

A.  W.  Wilmarth, 
Edward  Walbridge, 
Jonas  Wilder, 
Albert  Walker, 
George  W.  Yates, 
E.  R.  Yale. 

CALEDONIA  COUNTT, 

George  E.  Eaton, 
Franklin  Fairbanks, 
H.  E.  Folsom, 
Luke  P.  Poland, 
A.  E.  Rankin, 


160 


Bennington   Centennial. 


Bliss  N.  Davis, 
Charles  S.  Dana, 
Joseph  R.  Delano, 


Calvin  H.  Blodgett, 
M.  H.  Buckhara, 
George  H.  Bigelow, 
Gr.  G.  Benedict, 
George  F.  Edmunds, 
T.  W.  Fisher, 
Samuel  Huntington, 
Joseph  D.  Hatch, 
H.  C.  Leavenworth, 
A.  N.  Merchant, 


Horace  Adams, 
H.  A.  Cutting, 


Lawrence  Brainard, 
Herbert  Brainard, 
Bradley  Barlow, 
Oscar  S.  Ricksford, 
Albert  Clarke, 
Park  Davis, 
Willard  Farrington, 
Ethan  A.  Hull, 
A.  B.  Jewett, 
L.  Millis, 
F.  McGettrick, 


Jonathan  Ross, 
C.  M.  Stone, 
S.  S.  Thompson. 


CHITTENDEN  COUNTY. 


E.  D.  Mason, 
Theodore  S.  Peck, 
Daniel  Roberts, 
Bradley  B.  Smalley, 
E.  M.  Sutton, 
George  B.  Safford, 
C.  M.  Spaulding, 
L.  G.  Ware, 
T.  E.  Wales. 


ESSEX  COUNTY. 


Z.  M.  Mansur, 
David  S.  Storrs. 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 


John  W.  Newton, 
E.  Henry  Powell, 
Homer  E.  Royce, 
S.  E.  Royce, 
Worthington  C.  Smith, 
Hiram  Skeels, 
Albert  Sowles, 

E.  A.  Sowles, 

F.  S.  Stranahan, 
Charles  Wyman. 


H.  W.  Conro, 
Nathan  G.  HUl, 


GRAND  ISLE  COUNTY, 


Jerome  Hutching, 
Bael  Landon. 


Waldo  Brigham, 
H.  Henry  Powers, 


Centennial   Commission. 

LAMOILLE  COUNTT. 

Edwin  Wheelock. 

ORANGli;  COUNTY. 


161 


J.  W.  Bliss, 
George  Crane, 
Edward  Conant, 
W.  H.  DuBois, 
Roswell  W.  Farnham, 
Edward  P,  George, 


George  H.  Blake, 
Charles  Carpenter, 
J.  W.  Currier, 
D.  M.  Camp, 


Charles  L.  Allen, 
Rodney  C.  Abel, 
Jesse  Burdett, 
H.  H.  Baxter, 

A.  C.  Bates, 
George  R.  Bottum, 
J.  B.  Bromley, 

B.  H.  Burt, 
A.  S.  Baker, 
Samuel  W.  Bumham, 
William  H.  Bryant, 
John  N.  Baxter, 
Charles  W.  Brigham, 
J.  W.  Cramton, 
John  Cain, 

11 


John  Lynde, 
Justin  S.  Morrill, 
William  R.  Shedd, 
George  L.  Spear, 
Stephen  Thomas. 


ORLEANS  COUNTT. 


E.  p.  Colton, 
Stephen  M.  Davis, 
N.  T.  Sheaf. 


BUTLANO  COUNTT. 


Henry  Hall, 
Joel  M.  Haven, 
Solomon  W.  Jewett, 
Cyrus  Jennings, 
Charles  H.  Joyce, 
L.  G.  Kingsley, 
P.  Redfield  Kendall, 
Henry  F.  Lothrop, 
E.J  A.  Morse, 
C.  A.  Mott, 
E.  L.  Ormsbee, 
Redfield  Proctor, 
S.  F.  Paige, 
Wm.  R.  Page, 
E.  A,  Pond, 


162 


3ennington   Centennial. 


George  H.  Cheney, 
H.  W.  Cheney, 
Frederick  Chaffee, 
C.  D.  Childs, 
Jonas  Clark, 
Merritt  Clark, 
Henry  Clark, 
E.  Foster  Cook, 
John  A.  Conant, 
C.  H.  Congdon, 
S.  M.  Dorr, 
W.  C.  Dunton, 
M.  G.  Everts, 
O.  H.  Forbes, 
G.  H.  Fox, 
Heniy  F.  Field, 
George  E.  Graves, 
S.  L.  Griffith, 
Middleton  Goldsmith, 
Charles  P.  Harris, 
J.  B.  Harris, 
L.  P.  Howe, 
E.  V.  N.  Harwood, 
E.  W.  Horner, 


S.  B.  Pettengill, 
John  J.  Parris, 
J.  J.  R.  Randall, 
L.  W.  Redington, 
W.  Y.  W.  Ripley, 

D.  W.  Rodgers, 
S.  W.  Rowell, 
L.  E.  Roys, 
Edward  H.  Ripley, 
John  A.  Sheldon, 
Charles  Sheldon, 
N.  T.  Sprague, 

M.  O.  Stoddard, 
N.  P.  Simons, 
A.  H.  Tuttle, 
Edward  Temple, 
Wheelock  G.  Veaiey, 
Aldace  F.  Walker, 
Chauncy  K.  Williams, 
Samuel  Williams, 
John  C.  Williams, 
John  Williard, 
Z.  V.  K.  Wilson, 

E.  O.  Whipple. 


WINDSOR  COUNTY. 


Frederick  Billings, 
Franklin  Butler, 
James  Barrett, 
Artemas  Cushman, 
Dudley  C.  Denison, 
Gilbert  A.  Davis, 
Wm.  M.  Evarts, 
M.  C.  Edmonds, 
W.  C.  French, 
Luther  O.  Green, 


Hugh  Henry, 
D.  C.  Hackett, 
H.  H.  Hariow, 
Wm.  D.  McMaster, 
Crosby  Miller, 
Prosper  Merrill, 
H.  L.  Rodimon, 
N.  B.  Safford, 
W.  H.  Walker, 
Ervin  J.  Whitcomb. 


Centennial  Coinmission. 

WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 


163 


Hiram  Atkins, 
J.  W.  Brock, 
George  O.  Boyce, 
N.  W.  Braley, 
John  W.  Clark, 
J.  A.  Cobum, 
L.  Bart  Cross, 
W.  P.  Dillingham, 
•C.  S.  Dana, 
Charles  Dewey, 
Edward  Dewey, 
J.  Y.  Dewey, 
Albert  Dwinell, 
George  M.  Fisk, 
B.  F.  FiBeld, 
Horace  Fitield, 
E.  E.  French, 
Henry  K.  Field, 
M.  D.  Gilman, 
S.  B.  Gale, 
Homer  W.  Heaton, 
J.  H,  Hastings, 
J.  H.  Holden. 
Charles  H.  Heath, 
H.  A.  Huse, 
E.  P.  Jewett, 
Lester  Kingsley, 
James  R.  Langdon, 


J.  P.  Lamson, 
Horace  Lyford, 
W.  S.  Martin, 
George  Nichols, 
O.  W.  Orcutt, 
John  A.  Page, 
P.  P.  Pitkin, 
J.  M.  Poland, 
George  A.  Putnam, 
Timothy  P.  Redfield, 
Ira  Richardson, 
Philander  Riford, 
C.  A.  Reed, 
George  W.  Reed, 
G.  W.  Randall, 
Charles  T.  Sabin, 
W.  A.  Stowell, 
George  Shepard, 
Fred  E.  Smith, 
J.  S.  Spaulding, 
George  W.  Tilden, 
A.  N.  Tilden, 
J.  K.  Tobey, 
Charles  W.  Willard, 
S.  L.  Wiswall, 
E.  P.  Walton, 
George  Wooster. 


"WINDHAM  COUNTT. 


Charles  E.  Alexander, 
John  F.  Alexander, 
William  Adams, 
William  Austine, 


O.  S.  Howard, 
D.  A.  Hammond, 
Josiah  G.  Higgins, 
William  Harris, 


164 


Bennington   Centennial. 


David  Arnold, 
John  Aiken, 
Hosea  F.  Ballou, 
Hosea  B.  Ballou, 
R  T.  Buttei-field, 
O.  E.  Butterfield, 
John  L.  Buttei-field, 
A.  A.  Butterfield, 
F.  G.  Butterfield, 
Ijeonard  Brown, 
Lorenzo  Brown, 
J.  R.  Ball, 
Horace  Birchard, 
Richards  Bradley, 
Francis  W.  Brooks, 
George  J.  Brooks, 
Herbert  F.  Brooks, 
William  H.  Bigelow, 
€reorge  B.  Boyd, 
S.  N.  Bemis, 
A.  B.  Bailey, 
Charles  Ban-ett, 
Ambrose  H.  Burgess, 
John  A^  Butler, 
S.  Wright  Bowker, 
H.  W.  Brigham, 
Fred  O.  Burditt, 
Austin  Burchard, 
Haynes  E.  Baker, 
George  H.  Babbitt, 
J.  D.  Bridgman, 
Augustus  Chandler, 
Lafayette  Clark, 
George  E,  Crowell, 
R.  W.  Clarke, 
Fred  W.  Childs, 


William  Han-is' Jr., 
Moses  H.|Harris, 
Broughton  D.  Harris, 
Fred  H.  Harris, 
George  W.JHooker, 
George  Howe, 
N.  Sherman  Howe, 
H.  D.  Holtoo, 
Kittredge  Haskins, 
Seth  N.  Hen-ick, 
W .  S,  Jenkins, 
Laban  Jones  Jr., 
Tyler  L.  Johnson, 
J.  Henry  Kidder, 
Harry  R.  Lawrence, 
Henry  J^ane, 
Henry  C.  Lane, 
W.  W.  Lynde, 
D.  P.  Leonard, 
O.  C.  Merrifield, 
Joseph  G.  Martin, 
J.  L.  Martin, 
Wm.  O.  Miller, 
Abijah  Muzzy, 
J.  W.  Melendy, 
Benj.  E.  Morse, 
Samuel  P.  Miller, 
Franklin  Moore, 
Ed.  L.  Norton, 
Stephen  Niles, 
F.  W.  Olmsted, 

D.  Stewart  Pratt, 
N.  F.  Perry, 

E.  A.  Plimpton, 
Francis  Phelps, 
James  Phelps, 


Centennial   Commission. 


166 


W.  H.  Collina, 
N.  F.  Cabot, 
Edward  Crosby, 
William  B.  Cutting, 
Ansel  B.  Collins, 
Milo  R.  Crosby, 
Charles  N.  Davenport, 
Charles  H.  Davenport, 
Joseph  Draper, 
Henry  Devens, 
George  S.  Dowley, 
O.  D.  Gray, 
Avery  J.  Dexter, 
Dana  D.  Dickinson, 
Josiah  B.  DivoU, 
Jacob  Esty, 
Julius  J.  Estey, 
William  H.  Esterbrook, 
Charles  F.  Esterbrook, 
C.  B.  Eddy, 
Charles  K.  Field, 
Levi  K.  Fuller, 
E.  A.  Fitch, 
Olin  A.  French, 
John  A.  Farnsworth, 
William  H.  FoUett, 
Wyman  Flint, 
O.  C.  Fitts, 
Francis  Goodhue, 
Eleazer  Gorham, 
Oscar  Gai-field, 
Jerry  J.  Green, 
H.  G.  Gillett, 
J.  B.  Holden, 
H.  N.  Hix, 
Samuel  L.  Hunt, 


J.  H.  Russell. 

E.  L.  Roberts, 
L.  M.  Reed, 
Wm.  Robertson, 
John  Robertson, 
Charles  B.  Rice, 
W.  H.  Rockwell, 
John  C.  Richardson, 
David  E.  Robbins, 

F.  E.  Ray, 
George  Slade, 
Abishai  Stoddard, 
Edgar  W.  Stoddard, 
R.  S.  Safiord, 

A.  N.  Swain, 
A.  Stevens, 
NoiTis  L.  Stetson, 
L.  N.  Sprague, 
George  Spafford, 
Jed  Stark, 
Alpheus  H.  Stone, 
Oscar  L.  Sherman, 
Henry  S.  Smith, 
John  L.  Simonds, 
Albert  J.  Simonds, 
Parley  Starr, 
E.  C  Sargent, 
Royall  Tyler, 
James  M.  Tyler, 
L.  M.  Tucker, 
H.  H.  Wheeler, 
James  H.  Williams, 
S.  M.  Waite, 
E.  L.  Waterman, 
William  G.  Wyman, 
A.  A.  Wyman, 


166  Bennington  Centennial. 

E.  L.  Harrington,  George  L.  Walker, 

Wm.  H.  H.  Holton,  Lewis  S.  Walker, 

Henry  H.  Holton,  Asa  Winchester, 

Luke  Y.  Higley,  Brutus  M.  Whitney, 

Simon  W.  Houghton,  Addison  Whithed, 

Alexis  B.  Hewitt,  Dan  P.  Webster, 

A.  C.  Howard,  S.  E.  Wheat. 


The  Battle  of  Bennington. 

BY  HON.  HILAND  HALL. 


INTBODUCTORT. 

In  the  following  account  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  only  the 
leading  facts  are  attempted  to  be  given,  numerous  interesting  and 
exciting  incidents  being  necessarily  omitted. 

In  order  to  have  a  just  appreciation  of  the  battle  and  its  conse- 
qaences,  it  is  necessary  to  call  to  mind  the  condition  of  the  country 
and  of  the  state  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence. 

The  campaign  of  1776  in  the  northern  department  had  been 
disastrous  to  the  American  arms.  After  suflfering  severe  losses, 
our  forces  had  been  driven  from  Canada  in  great  distress,  and  the 
enemy,  by  the  destruction  of  the  American  flotilla,  had  obtained 
full  command  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain.  Great  numbers 
of  troops  were  arriving  at  Quebec  from  Europe,  and  a  fearful  inva- 
sion was  expected  at  the  opening  of  the  lake  in  the  spring.  To 
meet  such  invasion  extensive  works  had  been  erected  at  Ticonde- 


Battle  of  Bennington.  167 

roga,  on  which  great  reliance  was  placed.  But  they  were  defective 
in  arrangement,  and  but  partially  manned,  and  on  the  approach  of 
Gen.  Burgoyne,  with  a  powei'ful  army,  Gen.  St.  Clair  found  they 
would  be  wholly  untenable,  and  felt  compelled  to  abandon  them. 
The  rear  guard  of  his  retreating  array,  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Seth  Warner,  was  overtaken  the  next  day,  July  7,  1777,  at  Hub- 
bardton,  by  a  large  body  of  the  enemy ,  and  after  a  brave  resistance, 
during  which  many  were  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides,  was 
overpowered  by  numbers  and  obliged  to  give  way.  The  greater 
portion  of  St.  Clair's  force  succeeded  in  forming  a  junction  with 
Gen.  Schuyler  at  Fort  Edward,  while  the  remnant  of  Col.  Warner's 
regiment,  about  140  strong,  took  post  at  Manchester. 

Burgoyne's  army,  numbering  about  9,000  men,  was  equipped  and 
lurnished  with  every  war-like  material  that  wealth  and  skill  could 
supply,  and  consisted  mostly  of  British  and  German  veterans,  with 
bodies  of  Canadians  and  Tories,  and  a  formidable  hoi'de  ot  Indians. 
Its  commander  expected  to  make  a  triumphant  march  to  Albany, 
there  to  be  met  by  an  army  from  New  York,  and  thus,  by  obtaining 
the  control  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  cutting  off  New  England 
from  the  other  states,  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  country  for 
the  King.  He  had  already  issued  a  flaming  proclamation,  threat- 
ening destruction  to  the  lives  and  property  of  all  who  should  oppose 
him,  but  promising  protection  and  security  to  those  who  should 
give  him  their  adhesion,  and  offering  payment  "  in  solid  coin  "  for 
all  provisions  that  should  be  brought  to  his  camp.  On  the  10th  of 
July,  having  reached  Skenesborough,  now  Whitehall,  he  issued 
another  proclama:tion  in  which  he  directed  "  the  inhabitants  of  Cas- 
tleton,  Hubbardton,  Rutland,  Tinmouth,  Pawlet,  Wells  and  Gran- 
ville, with  the  neighboring  districts ;  also  the  districts  bordering  on 
White  Creek  (Salem),  Camden,  Cambridge,  &c.,  &c.,"  to  send  ten 
persons  or  more  from  each  township  to  meet  Col.  Skene  at  Cas- 
tleton  on  the  15th,  who  would  "  communicate  conditions  upon 
which  the  persons  and  properties  of  the  disobedient  might  yet  be 
spared."  The  proclamation  concluded  with  the  following  barbarous 
threat :  "  This  fail  not  under  the  pain  of  military  execution." 


168  JSennington  Centennial. 

To  a  large  portion  of  the  frontier  inhabitants,  Burgoyne'a  army 
appeared  irresistible.  If  he  should  let  loose  his  horde  of  savages 
upon  them,  which  in  his  first  proclamation  he  said  "  amounted  to 
thousands,"  there  would  seem  to  be  no  escape  for  them.  Great 
numbers  from  those  towns,  and  some  from  towns  still  further  to  the 
south  repaired  to  Col.  Skene,  and  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  Crown,  some  from  choice  and  some  from  supposed  necessity, 
received  written  protections  for  their  security.  Of  these  many 
took  up  arms  against  their  country,  and  joined  the  invading  army. 
But  the  more  patriotic  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  scorning  sub- 
mission to  the  invaders,  abandoned  their  homes  to  the  mercy 
of  the  enemy,  and  taking  with  them  such  of  their  eflfects  as 
they  were  able  to  transport,  fled  to  the  south,  some  stopping  in 
Bennington,  but  most  of  them  going  on  to  their  friends  in  Berk- 
shire county  and  Connecticut.  Berkshire  county,  in  the  language 
of  a  contemporary,  was  "  burdened  with  these  fugitives."  Nearly 
all  of  the  territory  between  Bennington  and  the  route  of  Burgoyne 
towards  the  Hudson  and  Albany  was  thus  made,  in  efiect,  an  ene- 
my's country,  and  Bennington  became  a  frontier  town. 

Prior  to  the  revolution  the  territory  of  Vermont  was  known  by 
the  name  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  over  which  the  govern- 
ment of  New  York  claimed  jurisdiction,  and  also  the  title  to  its 
lands.  This  claim  was  disputed  by  its  inhabitants,  who  alter  a  long 
and  severe  controversy,  had  by  a  convention  of  their  delegates  held 
at  Westminster  on  the  17th  of  January,  1777,  declared  the  territory 
an  independent  state.  At  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga 
by  St.  Clair,  a  subsequent  convention  of  the  new  state  was  in  session 
at  Windsor,  engaged  in  the  work  of  framing  its  new  constitution  of 
government ;  and  the  abandonment  of  that  post  left  the  families  of 
many  of  its  members  in  immediate  peril.  At  the  news  of  this 
alarming  event  the  constitution  was  somewhat  hurriedly  adopted, 
and  having  appointed  a  Council  of  Safety  to  manage  the  affairs  of 
the  state  until  the  regular  government  could  be  put  in  operation, 
the  convention  adjourned. 

The  Council  of  Safety  thus  constituted,  met  first  at  Manchester, 
but  soon  adjourned  to  Bennington,  where  it  continued  in  permanent 


Sr.^li;7AH.Pa'>_c 


O-^^,  '^^  ^/^       ^(^  Cl^^ 


Battle  of  Bennington.  169 

session  throughout  the  year,  adopting  and  carrying  into  effect  the 
most  energetic  measures  for  protecting  the  state  against  its  foreign 
as  well  as  its  domestic  enemies.  Pressing  messages  having  been 
sent  to  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  for  aid,  such  of  the 
militia  as  could  be  gathered  were  called  out  to  strengthen  the 
force  of  Col.  Warner  at  Manchester,  where  an  attack  was  appre- 
hended. A  permanent  force  to  patrol  the  frontiers  and  to  guard 
against  any  covert  outbreak  of  the  Tories  in  their  midst,  was 
indispensable,  and  to  provide  means  for  maintaining  such  a  force, 
and  to  meet  their  other  expenses  in  defending  the  state,  the  Council 
ordered  the  property  of  those  of  their  inhabitants  that  had  joined 
the  enemy  to  be  sequestered  and  sold.  A  proper  fund  being  thus 
secured,  a  regiment  of  Rangers  was  organized  under  the  command 
of  Col.  Samuel  Herrick,  which  did  efficient  and  valuable  service  to 
the  state  and  country. 

New  Hampshire  responded  nobly  to  the  call  of  the  Vermont 
Council.  The  Assembly  at  once  ordered  a  large  portion  of  their 
militia  to  be  organized  into  a  brigade  and  placed  under  the  com- 
mand of  Gen.  John  Stark.  He  had  served  with  credit  and  honor  in 
the  previous  French  war,  and  as  colonel  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  in  Canada, 
and  under  Washington  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  but  Congress  had 
promoted  junior  officers  over  him,  and  he  had  resigned  his  commis- 
sion and  retired  from  the  service,  though  he  retained  the  same 
patriotic  ardor  as  before.  He  was  reluctant  to  be  placed  under 
officers  he  had  outranked,  and  there  was  also  at  the  time  a  very 
general  distrust  in  New  England  of  Gen,  Schuyler,  who  was  in 
command  of  the  northern  department ;  for  which  reasons  Gen. 
Stark's  written  instructions  were  of  a  discretionary  character.  He 
was  directed  "  to  repair  to  Charlestown,  No.  4,"  and  when  the  troops 
were  collected  there,  "  to  take  the  command  of  them  and  march 
into  the  state  of  Vermont,  and  there  act  in  conjunction  with  the 
troops  of  that  state,  or  any  other  of  the  states,  or  of  the  United 
States,  or  separately,  as  it  should  appear  expedient  to  him,  for  the 
protection  of  the  people  or  the  annoyance  of  the  enemy." 

Crossing  the  Green  Mountain  from  Charlestown  with  the  gi-eater 
part  of  his  command,  Stark  reached  Manchester  on   the   7th  • 


170  Bennington   Centennial. 

Angast,  where  he  met  Gen.  Lincoln,  who  had  been  sent  from  Still- 
water by  Gen,  Schuyler  to  conduct  his  militia  to  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson.  Stark  communicated  his  instructions  and  declined 
obedience  on  the  ground  of  the  dangerous  condition  in  which  it 
would  leave  the  people  of  Vermont,  and  because  he  believed  Bur- 
goyne  would  be  more  embarrassed  in  his  operations  by  his  remaining 
on  his  left  than  by  his  joining  the  army  in  front.  But  for  this 
refusal  of  Stark,  which  was  founded  on  the  soundest  military  view 
of  the  state  of  aflFairs,  Bennington  would  have  been  in  a  measure 
defenseless,  and  would  doubtless  have  fallen  a  prey  to  the  enemy. 

At  Manchester  Stark  found  that  a  considerably  large  body  of 
the  enemy,  which  for  some  time  had  been  at  Castleton,  threatening 
Manchester  and  to  cross  over  to  Connecticut  river,  had  marched  to 
the  Hudson,  he  with  his  force  passed  on  to  Bennington,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  9th.  He  was  accompanied  by  Col.  Warner,  whose 
continental  regiment  was  left  at  Manchester  under  the  command  of 
Lieut.  Col.  Samuel  Safford.  At  Bennington  Gen.  Stark  encamped 
for  a  few  days,  collecting  information  in  regard  to  the  position  and 
designs  of  the  enemy,  and  consulting  with  the  Council  of  Safety, 
and  with  Col.  Warner  relative  to  future  operations. 

The  progress  of  Burgoyne  towards  Albany  had  been  so  retarded 
by  the  natural  difficulties  of  the  route,  and  the  obstructions  thrown 
in  his  way  by  the  Americans,  that  it  was  nearly  a  month  after  his 
departure  from  Ticonderoga,  before  he  reached  the  Hudson  river. 
Here  he  found  himself  so  deficient  in  provisions,  and  also  in  cattle 
and  carriages  for  transportation,  that  he  was  much  embarsassed 
about  the  means  for  advancing  further.  Learning  that  the  articles 
he  most  needed  had  been  collected  in  considerable  quantities  at 
Bennington  as  a  convenient  depot  to  supply  the  American  forces, 
be  resolved  to  seize  them  for  the  use  of  his  own  army. 

For  this  service  Lieut.  Col.  Baum  was  selected.  Burgoyne  in 
his  letter  to  the  English  Ministry  states  the  force  under  his  com- 
mand to  have  consisted  of  200  dismounted  dragoons,  *'  Captain 
Frazer's  marksmen  [called,  also,  rangers],  which  were  the  only 
British,  all  the  Canadian  volunteers,  a  party  of  Provincials  [Col. 
Peters'  corps  of  Tories],  100  Indians,  and  two  light  pieces  of  can- 


Battle  of  Bennington. ,  171 

non,  the  whole  detachment  amounting  to  about  500  men.''  There 
is  no  doubt  this  number  is  too  small  by  several  hundreds.  The 
German  official  accounts  give  the  number  of  the  troops  of  Baum 
at  374,  instead  of  200 ;  and  of  the  British,  Canadians  and  Tories, 
the  prisoners  taken  in  the  action  amounted  to  230,  as  will  be  seen 
hereafter,  which  would  swell  Baum's  force  to  over  600,  without 
reckoning  those  who  were  killed  in  battle  and  the  many  who 
escaped  by  flight.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  number  of 
men  brought  into  action  by  Baum  exceeded  700,  besides  his  100 
Indians.  Col.  Skene,  at  the  request  of  Burgoyne,  had  accompanied 
the  expedition,  that  the  German  commander  might  have  the  benefit 
of  his  better  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  of  his  supposed  influ- 
ence with  its  people. 

PREPARING  VCR  THE  BATTLE. 

Baum  set  off  with  his  force  on  the  13th  of  August,  and  arrived 
the  same  day  at  Cambi-idge,  sixteen  miles  from  Bennington.  Early 
the  next  morning  he  reached  Sancoick,  a  small  settlement  near  the 
mouth  of  the  White  Creek  branch  of  the  Walloomsac  river  about 
half  a  mile  below  the  present  village  of  North  Hoosick.  Here  he 
found  a  party  of  Americans  in  possession  of  a  mill  which  they 
abandoned  on  his  approach,  and  in  the  mill,  on  the  head  of  a  barrel, 
he  wrote  Burgoyne  an  account  of  his  progress,  informing  him  that 
"by  five  prisoners  taken  here  they  agree  that  1.500  to  1,800  men 
are  at  Bennington,  but  are  supposed  to  leave  on  our  approach." 
They  did  leave  on  his  approach,  but  not  in  the  direction  he  had 
anticipated.  The  old  mill  at  Sancoick  is  still  standing  and  in  use 
by  John  W.  Burke,  the  present  owner,  and  is  about  eight  miles  from 
Bennington. 

Gen.  Stark,  on  the  13th,  had  received  information  from  scouts 
that  a  party  of  Indians  was  at  Cambridge,  and  he  sent  Lieut.  Col. 
Gregg,  of  his  brigade,  with  200  men  to  stop  their  progress,  but 
during  the  night  he  was  advised  that  a  large  body  of  troops,  with 
artillery,  were  in  the  rear  of  the  Indians,  and  that  they  were 
advancing  towards  Bennington.  He  immediately  sent  to  Manchester 
for  Col.  Warner's  continental  regiment,  and  also  for  the  neighboring 


172  Bennington    Centennial. 

militia  to  rally  to  his  support.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  he 
assembled  his  brigade,  and  in  company  with  Cols.  Warner,  Wil- 
liams, Hei-rick  and  Brush,  went  out  to  meet  the  enemy.  He  had 
marched  about  five  miles  when  he  met  Gregg  on  his  retreat  from 
Sancoick  and  the  enemy  in  close  pursuit.  Stark  drew  up  his  men 
in  order  of  battle,  but  Baum  halted  in  a  commanding  position,  and 
the  ground  occupied  by  Stark  being  unfavorable  for  a  general 
attack,  he  fell  back  about  a  mile  and  encamped.  His  encampment 
was  in  the  northwest  part  of  Bennington,  on  the  farm  formerly 
owned  by  Paul  M.  Henry,  on  the  hill  upon  which  a  dwelling  has 
lately  been  erected  by  Lewis  Noithouse,  the  present  proprietor. 

The  Walloomsac  river  is  a  branch  of  the  Hoosick,  fordable  in 
most  places,  having  in  general  a  westerly  course,  but  which  after 
passing  Stark's  encampment  runs  in  a  northern  direction  tor  half  a 
mile,  then  westerly  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  where  it  turns  suddenly 
to  the  south,  and  pursues  that  course  for  three-quarters  of  a  mile  or 
more.  Here,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  Baum  halted  and  made 
his  arrangements  for  defense.  On  the  top  of  a  thickly  wooded 
hill,  which  rises  abruptly  three  or  four  hundred  feet  from  the  west 
bank  of  the  stream,  he  posted  the  greater  part  of  his  Germans, 
under  his  own  immediate  command.  This  position  was  west  of  the 
sudden  bend  in  the  stream,  and  Baum's  front  to  the  east  was  well 
secured  against  an  attack  by  the  precipitous  ascent  of  the  hill  on 
that  side,  which  impracticable  ascent  extended  from  his  camp  for 
half  a  mile  along  the  bank  of  the  river  to  the  bridge  at  the  southern 
foot  of  the  hill,  over  which  the  road  from  Bennington  to  Sancoick 
and  Cambridge  passed.  On  the  top  of  this  hill  Baum  prepared 
entrenchments  of  earth  and  logs  to  resist  attacks  from  the  west  and 
on  his  flanks. 

For  the  defense  of  the  important  pass  at  the  bridge  Baum 
caused  a  strong  breastwork  to  be  thrown  up  on  the  high  bank  of 
the  river,  on  which  was  mounted  one  of  his  cannon,  in  charge  of  a 
body  of  German  grenadiers.  Two  small  breastworks  were  also 
erected  on  opposite  sides  of  the  road,  nea.r  the  west  end  of  the 
bridge,  which  were  manned  by  Frazei^'s  marksmen  ;  and  the  posi- 
tion was  still  further  strengthened  by  posting  all  the  Canadians  in 


Battle  of  Bennington.  173 

log  huts  which  were  standing  near  the  bridge  on  both  sides  of  the 
river.  This  point  is  where  the  river  is  now  crossed  by  the  covered 
railroad  bridge,  about  three  miles  from  North  Bennington  on  the 
route  to  Troy. 

Baura,  on  his  way  from  the  Hudson  and  at  his  encampment, 
had  been  joined  by  a  considerable  number  of  Tories,  many  of  them 
under  the  lead  of  Col.  Francis  Pfister,  a  half-pay  British  officer  of 
wealth  and  extensive  influence,  who  occupied  an  imposing  residence 
erected  by  him  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hoosick,  near  what  is  now . 
known  as  Hoosick  Corners.  These,  with  most  of  Peters'  corps  of 
loyalists,  were  posted  on  a  hill  east  of  the  stream,  forty  or  fifty  rods 
to  the  southeast  of  the  bridge.  Here  strong  works  of  defense 
were  erected,  known  as  the  "  Tory  breastwork,"  and  of  which  Col. 
Pfister  is  understood  to  have  been  placed  in  command.  On  its 
right  was  a  sharp  ravine,  and  both  flanks  would  have  the  protection 
of  ball  and  grape  from  the  cannon  at  the  bridge.  The  other  cannon, 
in  charge  of  German  grenadiers,  supported  by  some  Tories, 
appears  to  have  been  placed  further  to  the  west  in  a  cleared  field 
near  the  road.  It  was  on  a  hillside  which  overlooked  and  com- 
manded the  approaches  to  the  bridge  and  to  the  Tory  encampment, 
and  also  to  the  south  flank  of  Baum's  encampment.  It  may  have 
been  moved  nearer  to  Baum's  position  during  the  engagement* 

The  encampments  of  the  two  hostile  bodies,  though  little  more 
than  two  miles  apart,  were  entirely  hidden  from  the  sight  of  each 
other  by  a  heavily  wooded  intervening  hill. 

The  force  under  Gen.  Stark  was  composed  of  the  greater  part  of 
his  brigade  of  New  Hampshire  militia;  a  small  number  of  Vermont 
militia  from  the  east  side  of  the  mountain,  under  Col.  William 
Williams,  who  had  been  stationed  at  Manchester ;    Col.  Herrick's 


*  The  several  positions  of  Baum's  forces  are  shown  by  the  plan  in  Bnrgoyne's 
account  of  his  expedition,  of  which  a  copy  on  a  reduced  scale  is  given  in  the 
Memorials  of  a  Century,  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  Jennings,  and  another,  still  smaller,  is 
found  in  Lossing's  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  The  top  of  the  map  is  west, 
and  upon  it  the  Tories  are  designated  as  "American  Volunteers,"  the  British 
marksmen  as  "  Rangers,"  the  Americans  as  "  Bodies  of  the  Enemy."  All  others, 
except  the  "  Canadians,"  are  Germans,  the  "  Chasseurs  "  being  German  marksmen. 
On  Burgoyne's  map  the  Walloomsac  is  called  the  Hoosick. 


174  JBennington  Centennial. 

corps  of  rangers,  then  forming  ;  the  state  militia  from  Bennington 
and  its  vicinity,  under  Col.  Nathaniel  Brush ;  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  16th,  Stark  was  joined  by  Col.  Simonds  and  some  militia 
from  Berkshire  county.  His  whole  force  might  perhaps  have 
numbered  about  1,600. 

THE  BA.TTLK. 

The  morning  of  the  16th  was  bright  and  clear,  and  Stark  pre- 
pared for  the  attack  in  accordance  with  the  plan  previously  agreed 
upon.  Col.  Nichols,  with  200  of  the  New  Hampshire  troops,  to 
whom  a  reinforcement  of  100  was  afterward  added,  was  detached 
to  make  a  wide  circuit  to  the  North  of  Baum's  post  and  come 
round  upon  the  rear  of  his  left,  and  Col.  Herrick  with  300  men, 
composed  of  his  rangers  and  Col.  Brush's  militia,  was  to  make  a 
like  wide  southern  circuit  to  the  rear  of  his  right,  the  two  parties 
to  meet  and  make  a  joint  attack  upon  his  entrenchments.  Cols. 
Hubbard*  and  Stickney,  with  300  of  Stark's  brigade,  were  ordered 
to  the  enemy's  extreme  right.  While  these  three  detachments 
were  gaining  their  assigned  positions,  the  enemy  was  amused  by  a 
threatened  attack  on  his  front.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, firing  was  commenced  by  the  party  under  Nichols,  which 
was  the  signal  for  a  general  assault.  It  was  immediately  followed 
by  the  detachment  under  Herrick,  and  by  that  of  Hubbard  and 
Stickney,  while  Stark  himself,  with  his  reserve  of  New  Hampshire 
men  and  the  Berkshire  and  some  Vermont  militia,  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy's  cannon,  assailed  the  Tory  breastwork  and  the  pass  at 
the  bridge  in  front.  The  engagement  thus  became  general  and 
"lasted,"  says  Stark  in  his  report  to  Gates,  "two  hours,  and  was 
the  hottest  I  ever  saw — it  represented  one  continued  clap  of  thun- 
der." The  Indians,  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  being  enclosed 
between  the  parties  of  Nichols  and  Herrick,  fled  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fight,  but  Baum,  with  his  Germans  and  all  others  under  his 
command,  having  the  advantage  of  their  position  behind  entrench- 
ments, which  the  rain  of  the  15th  had  given  tkem  ample  time  to 

* Htd)bardii  the  name  given  by  Gen.  Stark  in  his  letter  to  Qatea,  and  by  most 
other  writers.    The  correct  spelling  is  doubtless  Bobart. 


Battle  of  Bennington.  175 

erect  and  make  strong,  fought  with  great  resolution  and  bravery, 
but  they  were  overpowered  by  their  militia  assailants,  and  either 


fi^xA 


t  ff ftn  n  orfan   rvrionnai'a  j\t 


ERRATA. 

At  page  174,  end  of  first  paragraph,  add  as  follows: 
On  the  night  of  the  14th,  after  ascertaining  the  position  of 
the  enemy,  Stark  called  a  council,  consisting  of  the  leading 
members  of  the  Council  of  Safety  as  well  as  of  Colonels  Warner 
and  Herrick  and  other  military  officers,  in  which  a  plan  for 
attacking  the  enemy  was  discussed  and  adopted,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  the  attack  should  be  made  the  next  morning.  But 
the  15th  was  so  excessively  rainy  as  to  pi-event  any  attempt  at 
a  general  action.  Scouts  were  however  sent  out  some  of  which 
were  engaged  in  successful  skirmishes. 

THE  BATTLE. 


its  march  from  Manchester,  came  up  fresh  under  Lieut.  Col.  Safford, 
and  took  its  position  in  front,  serving  as  a  rallying  point  for  the 
scattered  militia.  Breyman  advanced  with  his  two  brass  field  pieces 
up  the  road,  with  wings  of  infantry  on  each  side  of  it,  occasionally 
firing  his  cannon  to  clear  the  way,  the  Americans  slowly  retiringbefore 
him.  When  a  considerable  body  of  the  militia  had  been  collected, 
a  stand  was  made  (about  forty  or  fifty  rods  east  of  the  present 
Walloomsac  depot),  and  Breyraan's  force  brought  to  a  halt.  Here 
he  was  attacked  in  front  and  flanks,  a  most  deadly  fire  being  poured 
into  his  ranks  from  a  wooded  hill  on  his  left.  The  action  was  very 
severe  and  continued  till  after  sunset,  when  many  of  Breyman's 
men  being  killed  and  wounded,  and  his  artillery  horses  shot  down, 
he  abandoned  his  cannon  and  fled.  Gen.  Stark  pursued  his  flying 
forces  till  the  approaching  darkness  rendered  it  necessary  to  draw 
off  his  men  to  prevent  their  firing  upon  each  other,  "  With  one 
hour  moi-e  of  daylight,"  says  Stark  in  his  oflScial  report,  "  we 
should  have  captured  the  whole  body." 


174  Bennington  Centennial. 

corps  of  rangers,  then  forming ;  the  state  militia  from  Bennington 
^nd  its  vicinity,  under  Col.  Nathaniel  Brush ;  and  on  the  morning 


threatened  attack  on  his  front.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, firing  was  commenced  by  the  party  under  Nichols,  which 
was  the  signal  for  a  general  assault.  It  was  immediately  followed 
by  the  detachment  under  Herrick,  and  by  that  of  Hubbard  and 
Stickney,  while  Stark  himself,  with  his  reserve  of  New  Hampshire 
men  and  the  Berkshire  and  some  Vermont  militia,  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy's  cannon,  assailed  the  Tory  breastwork  and  the  pass  at 
the  bridge  in  front.  The  engagement  thus  became  general  and 
"lasted,"  says  Stark  in  his  report  to  Gates,  "two  hours,  and  was 
the  hottest  I  ever  saw — it  represented  one  continued  clap  of  thun- 
der." The  Indians,  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  being  enclosed 
between  the  parties  of  Nichols  and  Herrick,  fled  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fight,  but  Baum,  with  his  Germans  and  all  others  under  his 
command,  having  the  advantage  of  their  position  behind  entrench- 
ments, which  the  rain  of  the  16th  had  given  tkem  ample  time  to 

*  Hubbard  is  the  name  given  by  Qen.  Stark  in  bia  letter  to  Qates,  and  by  most 
other  writers.    The  correct  spelling  is  doubtless  Robart. 


JSattle  of  Bennington.  175 

erect  and  make  strong,  fought  with  great  resolution  and  bravery, 
but  they  were  overpowered  by  their  militia  assailants,  and  either 
fled  or  surrendered  prisoners  of  war. 

The  battle  being  ended  and  the  prisoners  sent  off  to  Bennington 
under  a  proper  guard,  the  militia  dispersed  to  look  over  the  field 
and  collect  plunder.     But  veiy  soon  intelligence  was  brought  that 
a  large  additional  force  from  the  British  army  was  approaching, 
and  within  the  distance  of  two   miles.     This  body  of  men   was 
under  the  command  of  Cul.  Breyman,  and  consisted,  besides  22 
officers,  of   620   rank  and  file,  all   Germans,  with  two  pieces   of 
cannon,  which  Burgoyne,  on  hearing  that  the  force  at  Bennington 
was  gi'eater  than  had  been  expected,  had  dispatched  to  reinforce 
Baum      The  rain  of  the  preceding  day  and  the  heaviness  of  the 
roads  had  delayed  Breyman 's  arrival  until  the  victory  over  the  men 
he  had  been  sent  to  aid  had  been  accomplished      The  victors  were, 
however,  in  great  confusion,  and  it  appeared  difficult  to  stop  the 
progress  of  the  new  enemy.     Happily,  at  this  juncture,  Warner's 
regiment  of  about  140  men,  which  had  been  delayed  by  the  rain  in 
its  march  from  Manchester,  came  up  fresh  under  Lieut.  Col.  Safford, 
and  took  its  position  in  front,  serving  as  a  rallying  point  for  the 
scattered  militia.     Breyman  advanced  with  his  two  brass  field  piecea 
up  the  road,  with  wings  of  infantry  on  each  side  of  it,  occasionally 
firing  his  cannon  to  clear  the  way,  the  Americans  slowly  retiring  before 
him.     When  a  considerable  body  of  the  militia  had  been  collected, 
a  stand  was  made  (about  forty  or  fifty  rods  east  of  the  present 
Walloomsac  depot),  and  Brey man's  force  brought  to  a  halt.     Here 
he  was  attacked  in  front  and  flanks,  a  most  deadly  fire  being  poured 
into  his  ranks  from  a  wooded  hill  on  his  left.     The  action  was  very 
severe  and  continued  till  after  sunset,  when  many  of  Breyman'a 
men  being  killed  and  wounded,  and  his  artillery  horses  shot  down, 
he  abandoned  his  cannon  and  fled.     Gen.  Stark  pursued  his  flying 
forces  till  the  approaching  darkness  rendered  it  necessary  to  draw 
off  his  men  to  prevent  their  firing  upon  each  other,     "  With  one 
hour  more  of  daylight,"  says   Stark   in  his  official  report,  "  we 
should  have  captured  the  whole  body." 


176  Bennington  Centennial. 

EFFECTS    OF    THE    BATTLE. 

Among  the  trophies  of  this  day's  victories  were  four  brass  field- 
pieces,  twelve  brass  drums,  two  hundred  and  fifty  sabres,  four 
ammunition  wagons,  several  hundred  stand  of  arms,  and  658  pris- 
oners, and  207  were  left  dead  on  the  field.  The  whole  loss  of  the 
enemy  could  not  have  been  less  than  900  men.  Some  of  the  con- 
temporaneous accounts  make  the  number  still  larger.  Of  the 
prisoners,  30  of  them  were  officers,  36  British  soldiers,  398  Hessians, 
38  Canadians  and  155  Tories.  Col.  Baum  was  mortally  wounded 
and  taken  prisoner,  as  was  also  Col.  Pfister,  the  commander  of  the 
Tory  entrenchment.  Both  were  taken  about  a  mile  to  a  house  in 
the  town  of  Shaflsbury,  which  a  few  years  ago  was  still  standing 
opposite  the  present  paper  mill  of  Charles  E.  Welling,  known  as 
"  The  Baum  House,"  in  which  they  both  died  within  a  day  or  two 
afterwards.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  both  engagements  was 
about  30  killed  and  40  wounded. 

This  victory,  in  which  undisciplined  husbandmen  with  their 
hunting  guns,  without  bayonets,  bravely  stormed  entrenchments 
manned  with  regular  troops  and  defended  by  cannon,  is  justly 
styled  by  Bancroft  as  "  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  eventful  of 
the  war."  The  loss  of  the  enemy  in  men  and  material  was  severely 
felt.  But  the  consequences  were  otherwise  still  more  important. 
By  inspiring  confidence  on  the  one  side  and  depressing  the  spirits 
of  the  other,  the  current  of  success  was  at  once  turned  from  the 
British  to  the  American  arms.  The  fate  of  Burgoyne  and  his  army 
was,  in  effect,  sealed  at  Bennington,  and  his  final  capture  well 
assured.  Gen.  Washington,  on  being  informed  of  the  event,  con- 
sidered it  as  deciding  the  fate  of  Burgoyne,  and  dismissed  all 
anxiety  about  his  invasion.  Its  effect  upon  the  enemy  was  most 
disheartening,  Madame  Riedesel,  wife  of  the  commanding  general 
of  the  German  troops,  who  accompanied  her  husband  through  the 
campaign,  says  in  her  memoirs,  that  by  Baum's  failure  "  the  army 
was  prevented  from  advancing,  while  the  enemy,  recovering  sud- 
denly from  depression,  increased  their  numbers  daily  "  Burgoyne 
himself,  though  he  struggled   on    for   a   few   weeks  longer,  was 


Battle  of  Bennington.  177 

evidently  disheai'tened,  Foui-  days  aftei'  Baum's  defeat,  after  pre- 
paring a  dispatch  to  the  British  minister  for  the  public  ear,  he  wrote 
him  another  letter  marked  "Private,"  dated  "  Camp,  near  Saratoga, 
August  20,  1777,"  in  which  he  gave  quite  a  gloomy  account  of  his 
affairs,  treating  the  failure  of  the  expedition  to  Bennington  as  his 
great  misfortune,  in  which  he  says  of  it,  that  "  had  I  succeeded,  I 
should  have  formed  a  junction  with  St.  Leger  and  been  now  before 
Albany."  After  speaking  disparagingly  of  the  Tories,  he  says: 
"  The  great  bulk  of  the  country  is  undoubtedly  with  the  Congress," 
and  of  the  Vermonters  he  bitterly  adds,  "  The  Hampshire  Grants 
in  particular,  a  country  unpeopled  and  almost  unknown  in  the  last 
war,  now  abounds  in  the  most  active  and  most  rebellious  race  of 
the  continent,  and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm  on  my  left." 

To  Gen.  Stark  should  be  assigned  the  highest  meed  of  praise  for 
the  victory.  But  he  was  nobly  aided  by  the  skill  and  valor  of  both 
his  officers  and  men,  and  they  are  all,  with  him,  entitled  to  the 
lasting  gratitude  of  their  country.  Of  his  officers.  Col.  Warner  is 
undoubtedly  entitled  to  special  credit.  Warner  was  a  colonel  in  the 
continental  army,  had  acquired  a  high  reputation  as  a  military 
leader  by  his  services  in  Canada  and  at  Hubbardton,  and  he  had 
long  been  a  resident  of  Bennington,  and  was  familiarly  acquainted 
with  the  ground  occupied  by  the  posts  of  the  enemy  and  their 
approaches.  He  was  Stark's  chief  adviser  in  planning  the  attack 
on  the  enemy ;  he  went  into  the  action  by  his  side  and  was  his 
active  associate  in  the  first  engagement,  as  well  as  in  repelling  the 
attack  of  Breyman's  reinforcement.  Dr.  Thatchei',  in  his  contem- 
porary Military  Journal,  says  :  "Stark, assisted  by  Warner, matured 
his  plans  for  the  battle ;"  and  Stark  himself,  in  his  letter  to  Gates 
afler  speaking  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  daring  bravery  of  the 
officers  and  soldiers  under  his  command,  says :  "  Col.  Warner's 
superior  skill  in  the  action  was  of  extraordinary  service  to  me.' 
Gordon,  in  his  history,  also  speaks  highly  of  the  services  of  Col. 
Warner,  and  also  of  those  of  Col.  Henick  of  the  Vermont  rangers. 
Other  officers  and  men  deserve  notice  for  their  meritorious  exertions 
in  gaining  the  victory,  but  the  space  allowed  for  this  article  will  not 
permit  it.  There  are  also  numerous  interesting  incidents  connected 
12 


178  Bennington   Centennial. 

with  the  battle  that  must  for  the  like  reason  be  omitted.  It  has 
been  only  possible  to  give  the  leading  facts. 

Gen.  Stark,  from  his  arrival  at  Manchester,  acted  in  concert  with 
the  Vermont  Council  of  Safety,  and  received  their  earnest  counte- 
nance and  support  in  all  his  movements,  which  were  duly  appreci- 
ated by  him,  as  is  shown  by  a  publication  in  the  Connecticut 
Courant,  over  his  own  signature,  in  which  he  passed  on  the  Council 
a  high  eulogium  for  their  patriotic  exertions  and  services. 

When  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia  was  informed  of  Gen.  Stark's 
declining  to  move  his  force  from  Manchester  to  the  west  side  of  the 
Hudson,  as  before  mentioned,  a  resolve  was  passed  disapproving  of 
it.  But  after  the  wisdom  of  his  conduct  in  that  respect  had  been 
demonstrated  by  his  victory  and  its  fortunate  effect  on  the  cam- 
paign, they  came  tardily  to  the  determination  to  do  him  full  justice 
by  approving  his  patriotic  services  and  restoring  him  to  his  merited 
rank  in  the  army. 

On  the  4th  day  of  October,  1777,  Congress  unanimously  passed 
the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  Gen.  Stark 
of  the  New  Hampshire  Militia,  and  the  officers  and  troops  under 
his  command,  for  their  brave  and  successful  attack  upon,  and  signal 
victory  over  the  enemy  in  their  lines  at  Bennington  ;  and  that  Brig- 
adier Stark  be  appointed  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States. 

Two  weeks  after  the  passage  of  this  resolution  by  Congress,  on 
the  17th  of  October,  the  event  which  Stark's  victory  at  Bennington 
had  clearly  foreshadowed  and  made  certain,  was  accomplished  by 
the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  and  his  army  as  prisoners  of  war,  to  the 
American  forces  at  Saratoga. 


Westminster — Hubhardton —  Windsor.  179 


WESTMINSTER-HUBBARDTON- 
WINDSOR. 


Yermont  celebrated,  in  1877,  three  centennials  of  events 
occurring  in  her  history,  viz, :  Declaration  of  Independence  at 
Westminster,  Tuesday,  January  15 ;  Battle  of  Hubhardton, 
Saturday,  July  7  ;  and  the  Adoption  of  the  Constitution  at 
Windsor,  Jul^  8  and  9.  A  sketch  of  each  celebration  it  has 
been  thought  proper  to  embrace  in  this  volume,  in  accordance 
with  the  suggestions  of  the  joint  resolutions  providing  for  its 
publication. 

WESTMINSTER. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  January  15, 1877,  the  people  of  West- 
minster celebrated  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
declaration  of  the  independence  of  Yermont.  The  following 
narrative  of  the  original  event  and  meeting  will  fully  explain 
the  purpose  of  the  observance. 

January  15th,  1777,  the  convention  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  which  had  held  several  sessions 
during  the  year  1776,  and  at  one  of  them  (held  at  Dorset, 
September  25,  1776,)  had  unanimously  resolved  "  to  take  suit- 
able measures  as  soon  as  may  be  to  declare  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  a  separate  district,"  assembled  pursuant  to  adjournment 
in  the  court  house  at  Westminster,  to  carry  out  that  purpose. 
At  the  successive  meetings  of  the  convention,  some  forty  towns 


180  Bennington  Centennial. 

were  represented,  the  largest  attendance  at  any  one  meeting 
being  fifty-six  delegates,  representing  thirty-six  towns. 

Tlie  convention  at  Westminster  sat  three  days.  On  the  sec- 
ond day,  January  16,  it  voted  "  N  C.  D.  that  the  district  of 
land  commonly  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Grants  be  a  new  and  separate  State,  and  for  the 
future  conduct  themselves  as  such."  The  third  day,  January 
17,  1777,  the  convention  adopted  the  report  of  a  committee, 
consisting  of  Nathan  Clark,  Ebenezer  Hoizington,  Captain 
John  Burnham,  Jacob  Burton  and  Colonel  Thomas  Chittenden, 
appointed  "  to  prepare  a  draught  for  a  declaration  for  a  new 
and  separate  state."     The  report  ended  as  follows  : 

Considering  that  a  just  right  exists  in  this  people  to  adopt  meas- 
ures for  their  own  security,  not  only  to  enable  them  to  secure  their 
rights  against  the  usurpation  of  Great  Britain,  but  also  against  that 
of  New  York  and  the  several  other  governments  claiming  juris- 
diction of  this  territory,  we  do  oflEer  the  following 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 
This  convention,  whose  members  are  duly  chosen  by  the  free 
voice  of  their  constituents  in  the  several  towns  on  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  in  our  own  names,  and  in 
behalf  of  our  constituents,  do  hereby  proclaim  and  declare  that  the 
district  of  territory  comprehending  and  usually  known  by  the  name 
and  description  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  of  right  ought  to 
be,  and  is  hereby  declared  forever  hereafter  to  be  considered  as  a 
separate,  iree  and  independent  jurisdiction  or  state,  by  the  name 
and  forever  hereafter  to  be  called,  known  and  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  New  Connecticut.  And  that  the  inhabitants  that  at  pres- 
ent are  or  that  hex'eafter  may  become  resident  either  by  procreation 
or  emigration,  within  said  territory,  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same 
privileges,  immunities  and  enfranchisements  as  are  allowed,  and  on 
such  condition  and  in  the  same  manner  aa  the  present  inhabitants 
in  future  shall  or  may  enjoy ;  which  are  and  forever  shall  be  con- 
sidered to  be  such  privileges  and  immunities  to  the  free  citizens  and 


Westminster — Huhbardton —  Windsor.  181 

•denizens,  as  are,  or  at  any  time  hereafter,  may  be  allowed  to  any 
such  inhabitants  of  any  of  tVie  free  and  independent  states  of 
America,  and  that  such  privileges  and  iramunites  shall  be  regulated 
in  a  bill  of  rights,  and  by  a  form  of  government  to  be  established 
at  the  next  adjourned  session  of  the  convention. 

The  convention  voted  to  accept  this  declaration,  and  "  that 
the  declaration  of  Nevsr  Connecticut  be  inserted  in  the  news- 
papers." 

"  The  newspapers,"  was  the  Connecticut  Courant^  in  which 
the  declaration  appeared  March  16,  1777. 

The  declaration  as  "  prepared  for  the  press  "  by  a  committee 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  differed  materially  from  the  decla- 
ration as  adopted  in  convention,  and  was  as  follows  : 

THE  REVISED  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

In  Convention  of  the  Representatives  from  the  several  counties 
and  towns  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  holden  at  Westminster, 
January  15,  1777,  by  adjournment. 

Whekeas,  The  Honourable  the  Continental  Congress  did,  on  the 
4th  day  of  July  last,  declare  the  United  Colonies  in  America  to  be 
free  and  independent  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  ;  which  decla- 
ration we  most  cordially  acquiesce  in :  and  whereas,  by  the  said 
declaration  the  arbitrary  acts  of  the  Crown  are  null  and  void,  in 
America,  consequently  the  jurisdiction  by  said  Crown  granted  to 
New  York  governments  over  the  people  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  is  totally  dissolved : 

We  therefore^  the  inhabitants,  on  said  tract  of  land,  are  at  pres- 
ent without  law  or  government,  and  may  be  truly  said  to  be  in  a 
state  of  nature  ;  consequently  a  right  remains  to  the  people  of  said 
Grants  to  form  a  government  best  suited  to  secure  their  prosperity, 
well  being  and  happiness.  We,  the  delegates  from  the  several 
counties  and  towns  on  said  tract  of  land,  bounded  as  follows  : 
aouth  on  the  north  line  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  east  on  Connecticut 


182  Bennington  Centennial. 

river ;  north  on  Canada  line  ;  West  as  far  as  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  extend. 

After  several  adjournments  for  the  purpose  of  forming  oui  selves 
into  a  distinct  separate  state,  being  assembled  at  Westminster,  do 
make  and  publish  the  following  Declaration,  viz.  : 

"  That  we  will,  at  all  times  hereafter,  consider  ourselves  as  a  free 
and  independent  state,  capable  of  regulating  our  internal  police,  in 
all  and  every  respect  whatsoever,  and  that  the  people  on  said  Grants 
iiave  the  sole  and  exclusive  and  inherent  right  of  ruling  and  gov- 
erning themselves  in  such  manner  and  form  as  in  their  own  wisdom 
they  shall  think  proper,  not  inconsistent  or  repugnant  to  any 
resolve  of  the  Honourable  Continental  Congress. 

"  Furthermore,  we  declare  by  all  the  ties  which  are  held  sacred 
among  men,  that  we  will  firmly  stand  by  and  support  one  another 
in  this  our  declaration  of  a  state,  and  endeavoring  as  much  as  in  us 
lies,  to  suppress  all  unlawful  routs  and  disturbances  whatevei'.  Also 
we  will  endeavor  to  secure  to  every  individual  his  life,  peace  and 
property  against  all  unlawful  invaders  of  the  same. 

"  Lastly,  we  hereby  declare,  that  we  are  at  all  times  ready,  in 
conjunction  with  our  brethren  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to 
do  our  full  proportion  in  maintaining  and  supporting  the  just  war 
against  the  tyranical  invasions  of  the  ministerial  fleet  and  ai'mies,  as 
well  as  any  other  foreign  enemies,  sent  with  express  purpose  to 
murder  our  leliow  brethren,  and  with  fire  and  sword  to  ravage  our 
defenseless  country. 

"  The  said  state  hereafter  to  be  called  by  the  name  of  New  Con- 
necticut." 

Extract  from  minutes, 

IRA  ALLEN,  Clerk. 

The  change  of  name  to  Vermont  and  the  drafting  and  adop- 
tion of  a  constitution  for  the  new  state  took  place  at  Windsor, 
in  June  and  July  following. 

The  centennial  services  were  held  at  the  Congregational 
church  before  a  crowded  audience.     The  room  was  beautifully 


Westminster — Hubhardton —  Windsor.  183 

decorated,  including  the  various  mottoes,  "  Yermont — 1Y77 — 
1877  "  "  Freedom  and  Unity  ;"  "  In  God  we  Trust."  Rev 
Pliny  F.  Barnard  presided.  The  programme  was  substantially 
as  follows : 

Prayer  by  Alfred  Stevens,  D.  D.,  of  the  west  parish  of 
Westminster. 

Music  by  Westminster  Cornet  Band. 

Reading  of  the  Proceedings  of  tlie  Convention  and  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  by  J.  B.  Morse,  Esq.,  a  direct 
descendant  of  one  of  the  signers. 

Hon.  Henry  Clark  of  Rutland,  delivered  the  centennial 
address,  giving  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  state  at  that  period, 
a  sketch  of  the  convention  and  its  members^  and  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution  at  Windsor ;  and  closing  with  a  review  of 
the  progress  of  Yermont  for  the  past  century,  and  its  notable 
citizens  and  sons  who  had  acted  conspicuous  parts  in  the  homes 
of  their  adoption  in  other  states  and  communities. 

Letters  were  read  from  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks, 
governor  of  the  state,  and  Hon.  E.  P.  Walton,  president  of 
the  Yermont  Historical  Society.  Brief  addresses  were  made 
by  Rev.  Alfred  Stevens,  D.  D.,  and  R.  S.  Safford,  who  gave 
an  interesting  statement  of  the  present  localities  in  Westmin- 
ster, and  the  notable  persons  by  whom  they  were  occupied  a 
hundred  years  ago.  The  exercises  were  closed  with  the  bene- 
diction by  Rev.  Dr.  Stevens. 

It  was  a  fitting  celebration,  and  creditable  to  the  patriotic 
people  of  Westminster. 


184:  £ennington  Centennial. 


HUBBARDTON. 

The  battle  of  Hubbardton,  although  not  taking  high  rank 
among  the  battles  of  the  world,  yet  the  brave  and  determined 
resistance  of  Seth  Warner  and  his  men  in  that  bloody  engage- 
ment made  to  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy,  reflect  on 
them  credit  and  honor.  Therefore  early  arrangements  were 
made  by  the  citizens  of  Hubbardton  and  Western  Vermont, 
for  an  appropriate  observance  of  its  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary on  Saturday,  July  7,  1877.  On  that  day  more  than  six 
thousand  people  assembled  on  the  battle-ground,  to  participate 
in  the  commemorative  services. 

At  four  o'clock  a.  m.,  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns,  for  the  orig- 
inal states,  and  one  for  Vermont,  was  fired.  At  nine  o'clock 
A.  M.,  the  people  astembled  around  the  Battle  Monument, 
which  was  dedicated  on  the  eighty-first  anniversary  of  the 
battle,  July  7,  1858.  At  ten  and  one-half  o'clock,  the  proces- 
sion was  formed  and  moved  to  the  grove  at  the  foot  of  an 
elevation  named  by  Ethan  Allen  Mt.  Zion. 

ORDER  OF  PROCESSION. 

1.  Col.  Pitt  W.  Hyde,  Chief  Marshal ;  Col.  Robert  R.  Drake, 
John  G.  Pitkin,  and  Fred  A.  Field,  Assistant  Marshals. 

2.  Brandon  Comet  Band. 

3.  Rutland  Light  Guards, 

4.  Carriages  with  the  President  of  the  Day,  Orator  and  invited 
guests. 

5.  Vice  Presidents  and  other  Officers  of  the  Day. 

6.  Pittsford  Cornet  Band. 

7.  Sprague  Guards  of  Brandon. 

8.  Citizens  on  foot. 

9.  Citizens  in  carriages. 


Westminster — Huhbardton —  Windsor.  185 

At  the  stand,  erected  in  the  middle  of  a  beautiful  grove,  the 
exercises  of  the  day  took  place  in  the  following  order  : 

1.  Invocation  by  Rev.  John  M.  Thyng,  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

2.  Music  by  the  Brandon  Cornet  Band. 

3.  Address  by  Cyras  Jennings,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Day  : 

JFettoto  Citizens  : 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  extend  you  a  hearty  welcome.  We 
welcome  you  one  and  all  to  a  sacred  spot  on  the  soil  of  Vermont. 
The  engagement  that  took  place  here  is  worthy  of  commemoration 
by  every  Vermonter  and  every  American  citizen.  And  when  I  see 
the  vast  multitude  befoi'e  me,  it  manifests  the  feeling  which  this 
occasion  has  excited.  We  are  assembled  to  commemorate  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Hubbai'dton,  and  to  do 
honor  to  its  patriotic  dead.  It  was  one  hundred  years  ago  this 
morning,  upon  yonder  hill,  that  our  fathers  gave  up  their  lives. 
Father  and  son  fought  side  by  side  for  the  rights  which  we  to-day 
enjoy.  May  their  memories  be  perpetuated  for  all  time,  as  long  as 
the  earth  shall  make  its  annual  revolutions.  And  let  us,  their  pos- 
terity, thank  Almighty  God  that  these  rights  which  were  so  dearly 
bought,  have  been  kept,  and  are  to  day  enjoyed  by  forty  millions 
of  free  American  people. 

4.  Prayer  by  Rev.  Zebulon  Jones  of  the  Baptist  church, 

5.  Music  by  the  Pittsford  Cornet  Band. 

6.  Historical  Address  by  Hon.  Henry  Clark  of  Rutland. 

7.  Music  by  the  Brandon  Cornet  Band. 

COLLATION. 

At  the  close  of  the  exercises  at  the  stand,  the  officers,  invited 
guests,  military  companies,  bands  and  people  were  invited  to 
partake  of  a  collation,  prepared  by  the  people  of  Hubbard  ton* 
Grace  was  said  at  the  table  occupied  by  the  military  compa- 
nies, by  llev.  Daniel  C.  Roberts  of  the  Episcopal  church, 
Brandon,  and  over  the  tables  of  the  officers  and  invited  guests , 
by  Rev.  M.  L.  Severance  of  Orwell. 


186  Bennington   Centennial. 

AFTER  DINNER  EXERCISES. 
The  dinner  over,  the  people  assembled  at  the  platform, 
where  the  remaining  exercises  of  the  day  took  place.  Letters 
were  read  from  ex-governor  Hiland  Hall  of  Bennington, 
ex  governor  Ryland  Fletcher  of  Proctorsville,  and  Col.  Ran- 
som M.  Gould,  president  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermont 
resident  at  Worcester,  Mass.  A  poem  written  for  the  occasion 
by  H.  B.  Spafford,  the  historian  of  Clarendon,  was  also  read. 
Brief  and  pertinent  speeches  were  made  by  Isaac  N.  Churchill, 
Esq.,  of  Hampton,  N.  Y.  (a  grandson  of  Samuel  Churchill,  a 
participant  in  the  battle),  Rev.  Daniel  C.  Roberts  of  Brandon, 
Hon.  Walter  C.  Dunton  of  Rutland,  A.  F.  Childs,  Esq.,  of 
Bennington,  L.  William  Redington,  Esq.,  of  Rutland,  Prof. 
William  F.  Bascom  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Col.  Redfield 
Proctor  of  Rutland.  Joseph  Joslin,  Esq.,  of  Poultney,  intro- 
duced a  resolution  of  thanks  to  all  who  had  taken  a  prominent 
part  in  the  exercises  of  the  day,  which  was  most  heartily 
endorsed  by  the  thousands  present.  At  the  close  of  these  ser- 
vices, a  sham  representation  of  the  battle  was  given  by  the 
military  companies  present,  the  Sprague  Guards  of  Brandon, 
taking  the  part  of  the  British,  and  the  Rutland  Light  Guards, 
that  of  Seth  Warner  and  his  men.  Tliis  proved  au  interesting 
dose  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  day. 


Westminster — Ruhhardton —  Windsor.  187 


WINDSOR. 

Services  were  held  at  Windsor,  on  Sunday,  July  8tli,  and 
Monday,  July  9tli,  1877,  commemorative  of  the  adoption  of 
the  name  and  the  constitution  of  Vermont.  The  8th  was  the 
actual  day  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  On  that  occa- 
sion Rev.  Aaron  Hutchinson  preached  a  sermon  before  the 
convention,  and  in  recognition  of  that  event,  it  was  deemed  fit 
that  religious  services  and  a  christian  and  patriotic  discourse 
should  open  the  commemorative  exercises.  A  large  tent  was 
erected  on  the  common  for  the  assemblages.  At  half-past  ten 
A.  M.,  the  bell  of  the  old  South  church,  the  oldest  building  in 
town  and  nearest  to  the  only  meeting  house  in  the  village  a 
hundred  years  ago,  was  rung.  Some  fifteen  hundred  people 
assembled  within  the  tent  to  listen  to  the  exercises.  Upon  the 
platform  were  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  governor  of 
the  state,  with  a  part  of  his  staff,  Col.  A.  C.  Hubbell  of  Ben- 
nington, and  Col.  Julius  J.  Estey  of  Brattleboro,  Hon.  Luke 
P.  Poland  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Hon.  Edvviu  H.  Stoughton,  Hon. 
Jason  Steele  of  Windsor,  Prof.  C.  A.  Young  of  Dartmouth 
College,  Dr.  C.  A.  Crosby  of  new  York  and  others.  The 
following  was  the 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

Music  by  the  choir,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  E.  P.  Phil- 
pps  of  St.  Albans. 

Invocation  of  the  Divine  Blessing,  and  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
repeated  by  the  congregation  in  concert,  and  reading  of  the 
eighth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  by  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Taylor  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  William  M.  Mick  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Singing  by  the  choir,  "  God  is  Love." 


188  Benniiigton  Centennial. 

Rev.  Calvin  B.  Hulbert,  D.  D.,  president  of  Middlebury 
College  then  delivered  the  following  christian  and  patriotic 

DISCOURSE. 

Mr.  jPresident,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  ; 

Patriotism  is  a  virtue.  In  the  ancient  Jewish  state  it  was  enforced 
as  an  obUgation.  It  was  love  of  country,  raised  to  a  religious 
principle,  that  caused  the  Psalmist  to  exclaim,  "  If  I  forget  thee,  O 
Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning ;  if  I  do  not 
remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  ray  mouth  :  if 
I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  ray  chief  joy." 

Nor  can  it  be  accounted  an  irreverence  to  say  that  our  Lord  himself 
was  influenced  by  the  patriotic  sentiment.  He  was  a  Jew ;  and  He 
must  have  felt  a  sense  of  personal  dishonor  in  the  odium  that  had 
accumulated  upon  His  nation  in  its  wasting  and  melancholy  decline. 
He  was  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus ;"  and  a  patriotic,  as  well  as  a 
divine,  emotion  must  have  stirred  His  heart  in  the  pathetic 
cry,  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets  and 
stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chick- 
ens under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not  1" 

In  apostolic  history,  a  form  of  christian  life  was  enjoined 
everywhere  so  comprehensive  as  to  embrace  the  well-being  and  pros- 
perity of  the  state.  "Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  pow- 
ers. For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God :  the  powers  that  be  are 
ordained  of  God.  »  ♦  •  Yov  rulers  are  not  a  teiTor 
to  good  works,  but  to  the  evil.  »  *  ♦  Wherefore  ye 
must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for  wrath,  but  also  for  conscience's 
sake.  For  this  cause  pay  ye  tribute  also.  *  »  »  Ren- 
der therefore  to  all  their  dues ;  tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due ; 
custom  to  whom  custom ;  fear  to  whom  fear ;  honor  to  whom 
honor." 

Loyalty  is  a  part  of  piety.  No  citizen  can  discharge  his  duties 
to  God  without  fulfilling,  as  involved  in  them,  his  obligations 
to  the  state.     Politics  and  ethics,  patriotism  and  religion,  have  an 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  189 

associated  and  interdependent  existence.  The  question  is  some, 
times  raised,  whether  human  government  is  of  divine  origin  and 
sanction.  The  reply  is  easy.  It  is  as  divine  as  anything  which 
God  has  created  and  ordained  to  exist.  It  is  as  divine  as  the  Con- 
necticut River,  or  the  Green  Mountains :  it  is  as  divine  as  man's 
nature,  as  human  society,  as  the  social  instinct,  as  commercial  inter- 
dependence. It  is  no  more  a  device  of  man  than  is  the  constitution 
of  his  being.  For  God  to  create  man  as  he  is,  is  for  Him  to  create 
the  necessity  of  organized  society  and  of  government.  In  furtherance 
of  His  personal  rights  and  interests,  God  has  made  every  man  to 
be  a  part  of  a  great  whole.  He  belongs  to  a  system.  No  choice 
of  his  own,  no  social  caste,  no  civil  distinctions,  can  detach  him 
from  it.  Linked  with  the  world  around  him  by  the  law  of  his 
nature  and  the  decree  of  his  God,  every  plan  of  isolation  is 
abortive.  On  the  principle  that  the  less  is  comprehended  in  the 
greater,  we  may  say,  without  peril  of  perverting  the  Apostle's 
utterance,  that,  as  I'elated  to  the  civil  state,  no  man  liveth  to  him- 
self and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For  whether  we  live,  we  live 
unto  the  state  ;  and  whether  we  die  we  die  unto  the  state  ;  whether 
we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  state's. 

Holding,  then,  that  the  religion  of  Christianity  comprehends  in 
its  beneficent  reign  in  the  earth  not  only  all  religious  and  moral, 
but  as  well,  all  political  interests — that  politics,  properly  defined, 
cannot  be  divorced  fi*om  religion  or  religion  from  politics — 1  have 
accepted  your  courteous  invitation  to  give  on  this  commemoration 
of  the  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Birth  of  the  State  and  of  the 
Adoption  of  the  Constitution,  what  you  have  been  pleased  to 
denominate  "  a  christian  and  pati'iotic  discourse."  We  are  agreed 
that  there  need  be  no  schism  in  a  discourse  characterized  by  these 
terms ;  and  that  the  whole  may  be  in  harmony  with  the  sanctity 
of  the  day  on  which  we  are  assembled. 

Nor  is  this  a  novel  position  we  take  in  charging  the  Pulpit  with 
obligation  of  service  to  the  state.  We  only  assert  a  principle  which  we 
have  received  as  a  lawful  inheritance  from  the  fatliers.  It  had  its  ori- 
gin in  English  soil.  It  came  across  the  sea  in  the  May-Flower,  It 
«reated  the  atmosphere  in  whichjwe  first  lived  and  moved  and  had 


190  Bsnnington   Centennial. 

our  being.  One  hundi-ed,  years  ago,  this  village,  hardly  matured 
beyond  the  rude  beginnings  of  a  frontier  settlement,  was  honored 
with  what  has  become  an  historic  glory  as  the  seat  of  the  Convention 
that  gave  birth  to  the  State  organized  in  a  Constitution.  On  that 
occasion  the  Pulpit,  true  to  its  mission,  made  itself  a  partner  in 
that  elemental  strife  through  which  both  the  state  and  the  country 
were  passing.  For  a  text  it  seized  with  an  almost  divine  felicity 
upon  the  Golden  Rule  ;  and  with  great  clearness  and  force,  and 
with  direct  application  to  the  times,  enunciated  that  fundamental 
doctrine  of  a  biblical  theology — the  universal  brotherhood  of  the 
race. 

It  is  a  happy  circumstance  and  suggestive  of  the  wisdom  of 
the  preacher  that  a  sermon  should  have  been  given  on  that  occasion 
upon  a  text  which  is  itself  a  divine  compendium  beyond  any  other 
inspired  passage,  of  all  social  and  civil  rights ;  and  which  contains 
pi'inciples  of  equality  and  humanity  deeper  and  broader  than  can 
be  found  in  any  human  digest  of  political  principles.  It  has 
in  it  none  of  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  a  human  declaration  of 
rights.  It  has  never  been  called  a  glittering  generality.  Though 
>an  orb  of  light,  only  a  few  of  its  rays  were  permitted  to  gleam  on 
its  surface.  They  who  first  heard  it  spoken  on  the  Mount  of  Beat- 
itudes, did  not  discover  its  repudiation  of  the  arrogant  claims  of 
kings  and  chieflains.  It  was  among  the  collateral,  but  inevitable, 
results  of  our  Lord's  teachings  in  this  text,  as  in  others,  that  He 
made  His  hearers  appreciate  their  manhood.  By  degrees  He 
removed  the  disguise  in  which  kingly  misrule  had  plied  its  arts ; 
one  by  one  He  exhumed  the  buried  and  down-trodden  rights  of 
man.  "  Be  not  deceived  " — this  injunction  was  included  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Redeemer's  instructions —  "  ye  are  men  ;  your  origin 
is  God  ;  your  nature  is  divine  ;  your  destiny  is  eternity  ;  having  in 
you  the  powers  of  an  endless  life,  they  take  hold  upon  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come ;  your  first  allegiance  is  to  the  King  of 
Kings ;  your  second  to  the  human  magistrate,"  Thus  speaking, 
our  Lord  rolled  an  immense  burden  upon  the  individual  conscience, 
and  awakened  in  man  a  sense  of  the  worth  and  dignity  of  his 
personal  being.     To  tell  men,  all  men — the  masses — the  common 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  191 

people  who  heard  Him  gladly, — valued  by  their  rulers  heretofoi-e 
for  their  brawn  and  muscle, — that  the  personal  rights  which  they 
accord  to  others,  they  may  claim  to  themselves,  was  to  evoke  in  the 
individual  soul  a  consciousness  of  personal  worth  which  was  des- 
tined ultimately  to  startle  and  upheave  the  nations  like  the  throes 
of  an  eai'thquake,  and  to  impel  them  forward  in  the  direction  of 
republican  simplicity  in  government  with  the  energy  of  a  storm- 
driven  sea.  V 

Such  now  is  the  import  and  the  comprehensive  range  of  the 
text,  employed  here  a  hundred  years  ago  ;  and  the  sermon  preached 
fi'om  it,  disclosed  eighteen  centuries  of  growth  of  the  human  mind 
in  its  study  upon  it.  We  meet  to-day  not  to  repudiate  but  to 
accept  the  Golden  Rule  as  thus  expounded.  Stirred  by  the  senti- 
ments of  patriotism  enkindled  by  our  National  Centennial,  yet  fiesh 
in  our  memories,  we  gather  here  on  historic  ground,  amidst  these 
tranquil  scenes  and  proud  memories,  to  reassert  reverently  its 
principle  as  the  basal  rock  on  which  has  towered  for  the  century 
the  superstructui'e  of  our  Commonwealth. 

In  casting  about  for  a  text  fitted  to  express  the  thoughts  that 
crowd  upon  our  minds,  a  text  which  will  link  us  into  closer  fellow- 
ship with  the  noble  men  and  women,  who  laid  the  foundations  of 
empire  among  these  hills,  while  at  the  same  time  it  imposes  on  us 
the  obligation  to  enter  into  their  labors  and  prosecute  their  enter- 
prise, I  could  find  none  more  suited  to  my  purpose  than  two 
passages,  which,  without  violence,  can  be  read  as  one : — 

Ezra  V  :  11,  and  I  Chronicles  xxii:5.     "  V/e  are  the  servants   of  the   God  of 
Heaven  and  earth,  and  build  the  house  which  was  builded  these  many  ycart^po  :" 
*•  and  the  house  that  is  to  be  builded  for  the  Lord  must  be  exceeding  magnifical 
of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout  all  countries," 

The  first  of  these  passages  contains  the  manly  words  of  Ezra 
and  his  associates  in  answer  to  the  carping  criticisms  of  the 
Samaritans  who  laughed  them  to  scorn  for  their  attempt  to 
rebuild  their  ancestral  temple,  then  lying  in  ruins.  The  second 
discloses  King  David's  conception  of  the  temple  when  it  should 
stand  forth  in  all  the  glory  of  a  consummate  art,  "exceeding 
magnifical,  of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout  all  countries." 


192  Bennington   Centennial. 

I.  It  will  best  serve  my  purpose  to  call  your  attention  at  the  outset 
to  the  origin  and  service  of  the  literal  house  spoken  of  in  the 
text.  You  are  not  unfamiliar  with  the  Scripture  narrative.  Insti- 
gated by  the  Arch-Enemy  of  man,  King  David  numbered  the 
people.  This  he  did  without  the  divine  warrant ;  it  is  supposed 
in  the  spirit  of  national  pride,  possibly  with  a  view  to  military 
conquest.  "  And  God  was  displeased  with  this  thing,"  and  He  gave 
to  the  king  his  choice,  a  three  years'  famine,  a  three  months'  con- 
quest over  Israel  by  the  enemy,  or  a  three  days'  pestilence  under 
the  direction  of  an  angel  of  the  Lord  destroying  throughout  all 
the  coasts  of  Israel.  David  chose  the  last  as  being  more  directly 
connected  with  God  as  its  agent.  The  pestilence  came.  Seventy 
thousand  fell,  leaving  as  yet  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  measura- 
bly unscathed.  At  this  juncture  the  destroying  angel  took  his 
place  in  mid-heaven  over  Jerusalem.  "  And  David  lifted  up  his 
eyes,  and  saw  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stand  between  the  earth  and 
the  heaven,  having  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand  stretched  out  over 
the  city.  Then  David  and  the  elders  of  Israel,  clothed  in  sack- 
cloth, fell  upon  their  faces.  And  David  said  unto  God,  Is  it  not  I 
that  commanded  the  people  to  be  numbered  ?  Even  I  it  is  that 
have  sinned  and  done  evil  indeed];  but  as  for  these  sheep,  what 
have  they  done  ?  Let  Thy  hand  I  pray  Thee,  O  Lord,  my  God,  be 
on  me  and  on  my  father's  house,  but  not  on  Thy  people,  that  they 
should  be  plagued."  "  Then  the  angel  of  the  Lord  commanded 
Gad  to  say  to  David,  that  David  should  go  up  and  set  up  an  altai* 
unto  the  Lord  in  the  threshing-floor  of  Oman  the  .Jebusite." 
Instantly  obeying,  David  with  the  elders  of  Israel,  left  the  royal 
palace.  Though  having  ground  enough  on  his  own  premises,  he 
was  required  to  go  some  distance  from  his  residence,  down  thft 
mount,  through  the  city  embi'aced  in  the  intervening  valley,  and 
beyond  what  were  then  the  city  limits,  and  up  Mount  Moriah,  to 
erect  an  altar  in  a  locality  which  he  was  required  to  purchase,  but 
which  years  before  had  been  consecrated  by  Abraham's  faith  and 
the  angel's  interference.  This  mount,  overlooking  the  city  entire, 
was  owned  and  occupied  by  Oman,  a  rich  husbandman,  an  aborig- 
inal inhabitant  of  the  land.     Tho  summit  of  the  mount    was  a 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  193 

remarkable  rock,  irregular  in  outline  but  of  level  surface  by  natural 
conformation,  containing  some  two  thousand  square  feet, — the  rock 
on  which  Abraham  built  his  altar,  aud  which  possibly  constituted 
the  ground-floor  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  temple  which  after- 
wards rose  on  the  spot.  This  rock  was  used  at  this  time  by  its 
owner  as  a  threshing-flooi*. 

Just  before  the  arrival  of  the  king,  Oman,  engaged  with  his  four 
eons  in  threshing,  had  discovered  in  the  heavens  the  destroying 
angel  with  sword  drawn,  and  with  his  sons,  had  sought  in  dismay  a 
hiding  place.  On  the  approach  of  the  king,  however,  he  came  out 
and  bowed  him^elf  to  David  with  his  face  to  the  gi-ound.  "  Grant 
me,"  said  David,  "  the  place  of  this  threshing-floor  that  I  may 
build  an  altar  therein  unto  the  Lord  that  the  plague  may  be  stayed 
from  the  people."  Oman  promptly  complied,  and  with  a  view  to 
stay  the  pestilence  with  the  least  possible  delay,  proposed  to  the 
king  to  take,  without  compensation,  the  oxen  at  hand  for  sacrifice, 
the  threshing  implements  for  wood,  and  the  wheat  on  the  floor  for 
a  meat-offering.  Though  every  moment's  delay  extends  the  rav- 
ages of  the  pestilence,  David  pauses  to  protest  against  receiving  all 
this  as  a  gift.  "  Nay,  but  I  will  verily  buy  it  for  the  full  price,  for 
I  will  not  take  that  which  is  thine  for  the  Lord,  nor  offer  burnt 
oflferings  that  cost  me  nothiug."  Oman  receives  the  money  and 
the  whole  estate  passes  into  the  hands  of  David.  The  king 
now  hastens  to  build  an  altar  unto  the  Lord  and  to  place  his 
offerings  upon  it.  This  done,  he  calls  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord 
in  prayer  and  supplication.  "  Then  the  Lord  answered  him  from 
heaven  by  fire  upon  the  altar  of  burnt-offering."  "  And  God  said 
to  the  angel  that  destroyed,  it  is  enough  :  stay  thou  thine  hand." 
"  And  the  angel  put  up  his  sword  again  into  the  sheath  thereof" 
Then  was  the  pestilence  stayed.  "  When  David  saw  that  the  Lord 
had  answered  him  in  the  threshing-floor  of  Oman  the  Jebusite, 
then  he  sacrificed  there  and  said, — This  is  the  house  of  Goi> 

AJND  THIS  IS  THE  ALTAR  OF  BUKNT-OFFEEING  FOK  IsRAEL." 

By  the  divine  command  to  seek  that  mountain  summit,  by  the 
gift  of  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  the  sacrifice,  by  the  swoi'd 
of   the   angel   sheathed   and   the   pestilence   stayed — possibly   by 
13 


194  Bennington   Centennial. 

other  intimations— King  David  settled  into  the  conviction  that 
God  had  expressed  His  pleasure  that  the  national  temple,  soon  to 
be  erected  to  His  glory,  should  stand  on  that  twice  consecrated 
spot.  Keep  in  mind  that  the  tabernacle  which  Moses  built, 
and  which  had  traversed  the  wilderness,  was  at  this  date  in 
the  high  place  at  Gibeon.  But  after  what  had  taken  place  in 
the  threshing-floor,  David,  "could  not  go  before  it  to  inquire 
of  God  ;  for  he  was  afraid  because  of  the  sword  of  the  angel  of 
the  Lord ;"  which  must  mean  that  he  either  feared  the  judgments 
of  the  avenging  angel,  if  he  went  beyond  the  protective  influences 
of  his  newly  erected  altar ;  or  that  he  accounted  it  morally  unfit  to 
go  to  Gibeon  after  God  had  so  expressly  designated  Mount  Moriah 
as  the  place  for  him  to  inquire  and  to  worship.  Be  the  occasion  of 
his  fear  what  it  may  have  been,  it  is  obvious  that  he  understood 
from  what  had  occurred  that  God  had  designated  the  location  of 
the  national  temple ;  and  in  a  place  that  gave  it  a  peculiar  conse- 
cration by  virtue  of  the  old  altars  which  it  was  made  to  enclose. 

The  altar  of  sacrifice,  erected  as  many  suppose  at  God's  appoint- 
ment upon  the  apostacy  of  the  race,  in  the  incense  of  whose  savory 
offerings  the  supplications  and  praises  ot  His  people  ascended  to 
Him,  had  long  been  the  leading  idea  of  all  worship,  and  of  all 
places  of  worship.  Therefore  it  was  fittingly  made  the  procuring 
cause,  the  constructive  idea  and  the  essential  glory  of  the  national 
temple.  Not  the  edifice  then,  but  the  altar  in  the  edifice  and  the 
sacrifices  offered  upon  it  in  the  devout  and  holy  worship  of  the 
assembly, — were  the  things  of  chiefest  interest.  It  is  the  altar 
that  sanctifieth  the  gift ;  and  the  temple,  itself  a  gift  to  God,  was 
sanctified  by  the  altar  which  it  enclosed  and  upon  which  it  was 
virtually  laid  as  a  sacrifice.  Now  I  call  you  to  witness  that  the 
service  which  David's  altar  rendered  in  sheathing  the  sword  of  the 
avenging  angel  and  in  staying  the  pestilence,  is  the  identical  service 
which  the  temple,  embodying  that  altar,  was  to  render  in  defense 
of  the  Jewish  nation  through  the  succeeding  ages.  The  worship 
of  Jehovah  in  the  place  of  His  habitation  was  the  appointed  means 
of  protecting  the  nation  against  assaulting  angels  and  desolating 
adgments.     It  threw  as  it  were  the  ponderous  walls  of  the  temple 


Westminster — Ilubbardton —  Windsor.  195 

around  the  nation  and  included  it  entire  within  the  impregnable 
foitress  of  God's  protective  favor.  When  the  Psalmist  called  upon 
the  people  to  walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her ;  tell  the 
towers  thereof ;  mark  well  her  bulwarks ;  consider  her  palaces ; 
that  they  might  tell  it  to  the  generation  following,  he  had  reference 
not  so  much  to  the  impregnability  of  the  temple  as  to  the  defensive 
power  of  that  system  of  religious  faith  and  practice  expressed  in 
it,  and  which,  warping  through  the  nation,  gave  to  it  its  unity  of 
life,  and  thus  enclosed  it  within  battlements  and  ramparts  which 
no  assaults  from  without  could  disturb.  In  Solomon's  prayer  of 
dedication  we  can  see  to  what  national  uses  the  worship  of  the 
sanctuary  was  to  be  applied.  If  Israel,  because  of  their  sin,  should 
be  put  to  the  worse  before  the  enemy  ;  if  for  the  same  reason  the 
heavens  should  be  shut  up  and  there  be  no  rain,  and  dearth  prevail 
in  the  land  ;  if  thei'e  be  pestilence,  if  there  be  blasting,  or  mildew 
or  locusts,  or  whatsoever  sore  or  sickness  there  be,  the  only  hope 
of  alleviation  and  prosperity  must  be  sought  for  in  prayer  and  sup- 
plication in  the  sanctuary.  The  national  temple,  thus  devoted  to 
penitential  and  reverent  service,  was  the  national  bulwark  and 
defense.  And  it  is  historically  true,  that  so  long  as  the  worship  of 
the  temple  continued  unbroken,  and  was  the  resort  of  the  people 
in  times  of  calamity  and  peril,  the  nation  retained  her  integrity. 
When  at  length  the  temple  worship  declined  into  a  formal  service ; 
when  the  people  lost  their  interest  in  it ;  when  religiously  they 
became  disintegrated,  and  finally  established  places  of  rival  wor- 
ship, then  not  one,  but  a  multitude  of  destroying  angels  appeared 
in  the  heavens  with  swords  drawn  and  for  a  prolonged  period,  and 
judgment  succeeded  to  judgment  till  the  nation  once  embraced  in 
an  impregnable  security  was  delivered  over  to  the  most  appalling 
catastrophe  that  ever  befell  a  people. 

Such  now  is  the  house  spoken  of  in  the  text ;  and  such  its  origin 
and  use.  "  We  are  the  servants  of  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  build  the  house  that  was  builded  these  many  years  ago." 
Exulting  in  the  honor  of  entering  into  the  labors  of  the  original 
builders  as  though  continuing  their  work,  they  sought  to  reproduce 
a  temple,  which,  in  its  pi-istine  splendor  was  acknowledged  to  have 


196  Bs7vnington   Centennial. 

been  "  exceeding  magnifieal,  of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout  all 
countries," — a  temple  which,  rebuilt,  should  give  to  the  nation 
again  restored  from  a  wasting  captivity,  the  protection  of  the 
overshadowing  wings  of  the  Almighty. 

II.  Let  me  now  remind  you  that  this  house  which  was  builded 
these  many  years  ago,  and  which  commanded  a  universal  admiration, 
has  been  uniformly  conceived  of  by  biblical  scholars  as  a  type.  It  did 
not  exist  for  its  own  sake.  It  was  a  prophecy  in  stone.  It  was 
destined  to  wax  old  and  vanish  away.  Coming  together  on  the 
Mount  without  the  sound  of  either  hammer  or  axe  or  any  tool 
of  iron,  it  has  been  interpreted  as  shadowing  forth  the  silence  and 
the  completeness  with  which  the  spiritual  structure  of  the  christiaa 
church  has  ascended. 

And  consider  that  this  spiritual  houae,  like  its  type,  finds  its 
procuring  cause  and  constructive  idea  in  the  altar  of  sacrifice 
which  was  laid  as  its  foundation.  It  is  the  old  Jevvish  altar 
advanced  to  a  higher  dignity  by  the  kind  of  ofiering  sacrificed  upon  it. 
Now  it  is  the  Lamb  of  God  on  the  altar  of  the  Cross.  When  we  see  the 
Sword  of  Justice,  which,  in  the  heavens  above  Mount  Sinai,  awoke 
against  the  Shepherd  Whom  God  calls  His  fellow,  satisfied  in  the 
Lamb  slain  on  the  Cross,  and  returned  to  its  slieath,  then  we  follow 
the  example  of  David  and  sacrifice  upon  the  same  altar  in  the  gift 
of  ourselves  and  all  that  we  have,  and  exclaim^  "  this  is  the  House 
OF  God  and  this  is  the  altar  of  buknt-offering  for  Israel."' 
What  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple  were  successively,  to  God's  ancient 
people,  such  is  the  Person  of  the  Son  of  David  to  all  who  receive  Him 
as  the  Incarnate  Word.  The  Logos  that  dwelt  in  and  irradiated  the 
Son  of  Man,  is  the  Shekinah  of  the  temple.  First  the  original  pat- 
tern given  to  Moses  in  the  Mount  that  had  burned  with  fire,  then  the 
pilgrim  tabernacle  of  the  wilderness,  finally  the  temple  fixed  and 
resident  on  Mount  Zion, — these  were  the  types  ;  the  Word  made 
flesh  and  tabernacled  among  us,  the  temple  of  His  body  destroyed, 
raised  the  third  day  and  vanishing  from  our  sight,  then  the  temple 
of  the  Christian  Church — the  Redeemer's  other  Self,  His  bride,  His 
spiritual  body — in  a  sense  the  incarnation  of  the  Spirit — a  temple 
rising  neither  in  Jerusalem  nor  yet  at  Gerizim,  but  anywhere  in 


Westtninster — Iluhhardton —  Windsor.  197 

the  earth  where  the  christian  assembly  meets  tor  worship, — these 
are  the  antitypes. 

God  laid  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  precious, 
«lect,  chief  corner.  To  command  our  confidence  it  was  visibly  out 
out  of  the  mountains  without  hands — out  of  Mount  Sinai  and  Mount 
Moriah,  out  of  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes  and  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion, out  of  Mount  Calvaiy  and  the  Mount  of  Ascension.  This 
stone  is  the  old  rock  of  the  wilderness  which  followed  Israel  and 
quenched  their  thirst,  and  which  rock  was  Christ.  It  is  the  Rock 
in  which  Isi'ael  triumphed  ;  "  their  rock  is  not  as  our  Rock,  our 
enemies  themselves  being  judges,"  but  which  they  themselves  after- 
wards repudiated  as  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offense. 
It  is  the  stone  of  infinite  magnetic  attraction,  and  that  promised,  if 
lifted  up,  to  draw  all  men  unto  it,  and  by  assimilating  them  to  it  to 
increase  until  it  should  fill  the  whole  world.  Thus  the  mystic  tem- 
ple of  the  christian  church  is  built  upon  a  foundation-Stone  and 
of  stones.  "To  whom  coming  as  unto  a  living  Stone,  ye  also  as 
living  stones  are  built  up  a  spiritual  house."  While  Caesar's  army 
was  battering  down  and  removing  the  very  foundations  of  the 
ancestral  temple,  the  christian  church,  its  antitype,  under  the 
supervision  of  "  a  greater  than  Solomon,"  was  going  up  throughout 
the  apostolic  world  in  the  labor  of  builders  who  wrought  noise-. 
lessly  in  the  use  of  weapons  not  carnal  but  spiritual,  and  mighty 
through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds.  Its  members 
*'  having  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father,  are  no  more 
strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God  ;  and  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles 
and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  Chief  Corner  Stone; 
in  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth  unto  an 
holy  temple  in  the  Lord."  From  that  day  to  this,  out  of  the  very 
stones  of  the  desert  God  has  been  raising  up  children  unto  Abra- 
ham, ''for  they  that  are  of  faith  are  Abraham's  seed  and  lieirs  accord- 
ing to  the  promise."  Imbedded  in  nature's  quarry,  or  sunk  in  the  hole 
of  the  pit,  or  scattered  on  the  heath,  these  living  stones  are  drawn 
together  by  influences  sweeter  than  those  of  the  Pleiades  and  by 
bands  mightier  than  Orion's.     As  stones  living,  that  is,  instinct 


198  £enningion  Centennial. 

with  the  very  life  of  the  Divine  Magnet,  and  polished  aftei*  the 
similitude  of  a  palace,  and  gleaming  with  inward  and  reflected 
light,  they  congregate  upon  the  Foundation ;  and  by  the  architectural 
instinct  of  the  life  that  pulsates  therefrom,  they  take  their  appro- 
priate places  in  the  structure,  and  are  builded  together  a  living 
temple  wherein  God  dwells,  and  which  forever  resounds  His  praise ► 
Their  relation  to  the  Chief-Corner  Stone  is  such  that  they  are  des- 
tined to  be  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  until 
the  house  of  God  which  is  the  JEcclesia  of  the  living  God  glows 
and  irradiates  throughout  its  entire  extent  and  to  its  utmost  turret 
and  pinnacle  with  the  beauty  of  Him  who  is  loved  and  adored  as 
the  King  of  Glory.* 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  house  spoken  of  in  the  text  includes 
very  much  more  than  the  temple  that  was  going  up  at  Jerusalem. 
The  Jews  were  building  better  than  they  knew.  Under  its  imagery 
and  in  the  light  of  the  christian  dispensation  we  see  nsing  the 
spiritual  structure  of  God's  Kingdom  of  Grace  in  the  earth.  In 
the  fullness  of  time  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  having  fulfilled  its 
course  and  accomplished  its  mission,  evolved  from  within  itself  as 
the  envelop,  a  more  spiritual  and  therefore  a  more  simple  and  uni- 
versal religion,  a  religion  which  disclosing  the  power  of  the  Spirit, 
shall  possess  "  a  matchless  inherent  energy  which  space  cannot  con- 
fine, which  time  cannot  exhaust.''  Teaching  a  more  advanced  and 
therefore  a  more  truthful^doctrine  concerning  the  nature  and  gov- 
ernment of  God,  the  new  faith  forbade  the  confinement  of  worship 
to  the  old  centers.  It  consecrated  all  localities.  "  Neither  in  this 
mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem."  Would  you  worship  the  Father, 
you  must  do  it  not  here  nor  there,  but  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  The 
house  of  God  which  is  the  ecclesia — the  worshipping  assembly — 
becomes  thus  multitudinous  and  cosmopolitan.  There  is  a  tendency 
in  human  minds  to  worship  God  in  the  sanctuary ;  but  not  because 
He  is  in  the  material  structui-e  ia  distinction  from  any  other  place, 
or  in  exclusion  of  Him  from  any  other  place,  or  in  any  more  of 
His  essential  glory  than  He  wears  in  all  places.     His  omnipresence 


*  I  Peter  ii :  ^—6.    Lillie  in  loco. 


Westminster — Huhhardton —  W'nulsor.  199 

and  infinitude  forbid  it.  He  is  always  present  at  eveiy  point  and 
in  all  His  entireness.  He  will  receive  a  spiritual  service  offered  to 
Him  in  one  place  as  soon  as  another.  Wherever  a  soul  cries  unto 
Him  in  the  midst  of  what  dai-kness  or  loneliness  soever  of  for- 
est, or  dungeon,  or  sick  chamber,  God  is  prompt  to  hear.  The 
wandering  traveler  cannot  spread  his  tent  at  night,  the  shipwrecked 
mariner  cannot  drift  on  his  floating  spar,  the  wounded  soldier  can- 
not creep  to  a  thicket,  where  God  is  not,  and  where  His  ear  is  not 
open  to  the  voice  of  his  supplication.  No  walls  and  arches  can  be 
piled  so  high,  no  ornaments  can  be  clustered  upon  them  so  sump- 
tuously, no  majesty  of  proportions,  no  carefulness  of  detail,  no 
solemnity  of  consecration,  can  so  set  apart  one  building  as  to  retain 
within  it  Him  who  fiUeth  immensity.*  God  dwells  not  in  houses' 
made  with  hands  but  in  the  congregations  of  His  saints  who  wor- 
ship Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  "Ye  are  the  Temple  of  God  ;** 
not  beams  and  pillars  and  rafters  adjusted,  but  souls  knit  together 
in  love  and  adoring  worship.  It  matters  not  where  such  worship- 
pers meet,  whether  "  in  Grecian  temples  or  Indian  pagodas ;  in 
barbai'ian  amphitheatres  or  Turkish  mosques  or  medieval  cathe- 
drals ;  in  Puritan  conventicles  or  Quaker  meeting-houses  or  floating 
bethels  or  barns,  or  lumber-rooms  or  log  huts  ;"  whether  on  the  sea- 
shore, the  open  prairie  or  within  the  leafy  avenues  of  the  forest ; — 
anywhere  where  God's  people  meet  for  His  worship,  there  God  is, 
for  they  are  His  temple.  "  Ye  who  are  Mine,  and  who  meet  for 
My  worship  in  one  place  and  with  one  accord,  ye  are  My  House  ; 
and  I  will  be  with  you  and  dwell  in  you  ;  and  My  spirit  of  light 
and  of  love,  shed  abroad  in  your  hearts,  that  shall  be  the  perpetual 
Shekinah." 

III.  These  worshipping  assemblies,  multiplied  abroad  in  the 
earth,  centers  of  light  irradiating  its  darkness,  ofiering  unto  God 
evermore  a  penitential  and  reverent  service — one  in  spirit  with 
the  offerings  made  by  King  David  in  the  threshing-floor  of 
Oman  the  Jebusite, — are  the  appointed  conditions  on  which  God 

*  A  few  passages  are  here  recalled  from  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Richard  S.  Storrs,  D. 
D.,  at  the  deeication  of  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New  York. 


200  Bennington  Centennial. 

commands  His  desti'oying  angel  to  return  his  sword  to  the  sheath 
thereof,  and  stay  the  swifl  avengers  of  His  justice.  What  David's 
altar  was  in  returning  the  sword  of  vengeance  to  its  scabbard  and 
arresting  the  footsteps  of  the  desolating  pestilence ;  what  the 
temple  was  in  after  years,  on  that  same  spot,  as  a  protection 
and  defense  to  the  nation  in  its  varying  fortunes,  such  are  the 
woi'shipping  assemblies  in  every  christian  state,  in  staying  the 
progress  of  divine  judgments,  and  in  multiplying  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  its  people.  Let  christian  woi'ship  cease,  let  Sabbath 
congregations  disperse  and  assemble  no  more,  and  how  soon  would 
a  land,  whose  blooming  luxuriance  now  gives  forth  the  savor  as  of  a 
field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed,  be  transformed  into  an  Acel- 
dama !  Blessed  the  day  to  the  inhabitants  of  earth,  when  angels 
with  swords  drawn  and  destroying  in  all  its  coasts,  shall  hear  the 
divine  mandate,  "  It  is  enough;  stay  ye  your  hands."  But  of  this 
we  may  be  assured,  that  such  a  reprieve  will  never  be  granted  and 
avenging  swords  be  returned  to  their  sheaths,  until  the  sons  of  men, 
in  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary,  shall  receive  the  proclamation  of 
that  other  angel,  extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary  from  the  court  of 
heaven,  seen  in  apocalyptic  vision,  "  flying  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  an  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the 
earth,  and  to  every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people." 

Such  now  is  the  spiritual  house  which  God's  people  are  building 
in  these  last  days.  If  interrogated  now  as  of  old  as  to  what  they 
are  doing,  they  will  respond,  "  We  are  the  servants  of  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  build  the  house  that  was  builded  these 
many  yeare  ago,  and  the  house  to  be  builded  for  the  Lord  must  be 
exceeding  magnifical,  of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout  all  countries." 

Nor  is  this  a  small  house  which  they  are  building,  and  of  few 
apartments.  It  is  large  and  ecumenically  expansive.  It  is  our 
Father's  house  and  there  are  many  mansions  in  it,  equal  in  number 
to  all  the  detachments  in  the  sacramental  host  of  His  elect.  If 
it  were  not  so,  our  Redeemer  would  have  told  us,  and  forbidden  this 
multiform  aspect  of  His  visible  kingdom.  He  would  have  said 
here  and  not  there,  this  and  not  that.  Imposing  on  all  His  people 
the  one  universal  bond  of  perfectness  which  is  charity.  He  has 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  201 

given  them,  as  having  entered  it  by  the  door,  the  liberty  of  His 
house,  to  go  in  and  out  and  find  pasture. 

IV.  This  line  of  thought  prepares  me  to  say  that  we  cannot 
contemplate  to  day,  in  these  memorial  services,  the  i-eligious  history 
of  our  state,  except  as  we  consider  it  as  a  part  of  this  universal  whole 
of  God's  kingdom  of  grace  among  men.  It  is  constituted  of  the 
overflow  and  out-propagating  stock  of  this  kingdom.  It  belongs 
in  the  succession  of  the  Redeeraei''s  triumphs  of  grace  in  the  earth. 
The  men  and  women  who  found  their  way  into  these  northern 
parts  were  of  the  Pilgrim  type.  They  brought  with  them  the  ances- 
tral faith,  the  moral  ideas  and  traditions  and  usages  of  the  religious 
communities  in  which  they  were  born  and  nurtm'ed.  By  a  law  as 
inevitable  as  gravity,  they  adhered  to  the  conditions  of  the  christian 
home — the  family  Bible,  the  family  altar,  and  "  their  hymns  of  lofty 
cheer."  They  came  not  to  escape,  but  to  bear  religious  responsi- 
bility ;  therefore  they  came  sustained  by  the  prayers  and  sympathies 
and  benefactions  of  the  christian  communities  they  left  behind.  Thus 
they  were  handfuls  of  coi'n  on  the  tops  of  these  mountains,  and  the  fruit 
thereof  has  shaken  like  Lebanon.  Endued  with  power  from  above, 
they  were  the  elements  of  a  christian  empire.  They  came  hither 
not  more  to  build  houses  for  themselves  and  their  little  ones,  than 
to  erect  upon  enduring  foundations  among  these  hills  the  super- 
structure of  the  Lord's  house.  In  the  main  they  were  entrenched 
in  the  stronghold  of  a  biblical  theology  and  disclosed  in  their 
characters,  the  virtues  and  excellencies  of  the  christian  faith.  They 
believed  in  God,  and  in  the  communion  of  saints  in  His  worship 
in  the  home  and*in  the  sanctuary.  Hence  we  find  scattered  among 
the  new  settlements,  in  what  were  called  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  prior  to  July,  1777,  eighteen  organized  churches.  Ot 
these  fourteen  belonged  to  the  Congregational  order,  and  were 
located  respectively  in  Bennington,  Newbury,  Westminster,  Guil- 
ford, Pomfret,  Brattleboro,  Thetford,  Rutland,  Chester,  Fayetteville, 
Weathersfield,  Putney,  Marlboro  and  Royalton.  The  remaining  four 
gathered  at  that  early  date,  were  Baptist  churches,  and  were  located 
one  in  Shaftsbury,  one  in  Pownal  and  two  in  Guilford.  These  eighteen 
churches,  you  will  observe,  were  organized  within  the  limits   of 


202  Bennington  Centennial. 

five  of  our  now  existing  counties,  to  wit :  Bennington,  Orange,  Rut 
land,  Windham  and  Windsor.  From  this  it  appears  that  at  the  date 
of  the  state's  organization,  no  churches  had  been  formed  in  the  terri 
tory  embraced  afterwards  in  the  nine  remaining  counties.  What  the 
aggregate  membership  of  these  eighteen  churches  then  was,  we  are  not 
informed.  Nor  have  we  any  means  of  learning  the  number  of  chris- 
tian people  in  the  state  at  this  time  not  gathered  into  churches,  or  the 
number  of  clergymen  laboring  among  them.  Of  this,  however,  we 
may  be  confident,  that  there  was  pervading  the  rapidly  growing  com- 
munities of  the  state  on  either  side  of  the  mountains,  great  religious 
wakefulness.  The  cardinal  doctrines  of  christian  theology  and 
experimental  piety  were  everywhere  studied  and  discussed.  The 
controversy  was  heated  and  prolonged.  Calvin  and  Edwards  and 
Hopkins  and  Bellamy  were  household  words.  Baxter  and  Bunyan 
and  Watts  were  as  needful  ad  the  daily  sunrise.  The  old  religious 
creeds  and  ponderous  theological  treatises  constituted  a  part  of  the 
furnishing  in  every  home.  Missionary  societies  in  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  contributed  much  towards  grounding  the  state  in  the 
christian  faith.  Better  than  earthly  treasures,  they  equipped  and 
sent  forth  into  these  new  settlements  a  large  number  of  educated 
ministers  of  a  devout  and  heroic  mold,  who,  following  the  apostolic 
example,  went  everywhere  preaching  the  word,  looking  after  the 
sheep  scattered  in  the  forests  and  among  the  hills,  and  organizing 
them  into  churches.  What  had  been  accomplished  by  these  labors 
prior  to  thestate's  organization,  cannot  be  measured  by  tlie  simple  fact 
that  at  that  date  eighteen  churches  had  been  established.  Seed-corn 
had  been  sown  broadcast  everywhere  among  the .  settlements  and 
was  springing  into  harvest.  So  that  we  find  that  before  the  close 
of  that  century — within  twenty-three  years — there  were  added  to 
the  number  of  the  eighteen  original  churches,  one  hundred  and 
one.  Of  these,  sixty  were  of  the  Congregational  faith  ;  thirty-five 
— counting  only  to  1790 — were  of  the  Baptist  order ;  three  were 
Methodist  churches, — not  counting  the  Vergennes  and  Essex  mis- 
sionary circuits ;  two  were  Episcopal ;  and  one  was  a  Free-Will 
Baptist  church.  This  gives  us  one  hundred  and  nineteen  organized 
christian  churches  iu  the  state   at  the  beginning  of  the  present 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  203 

century.  It  cannot  but  awaken  our  admiration  and  our  gratitude, 
to  mark  the  rapidity  with  which  the  state  was  settled,  and|  the 
eagerness  with  which  christians  labored  to  infuse  into  it  the  leaven 
of  inspired  truth  and  to  give  it  a  high  moral  and  religious  character. 

V.  Though  no  part  of  the  history  of  this  commonwealth  is  more 
interesting,  still  I  cannot  call  your  attention  beyond  a  brief  moment 
to  the  extent  of  the  service  rendered  to  the  state  by  the  ministry 
and  the  churches  during  this  elemental  and  formative  period.  But 
this  much  I  hasten  to  aflSrm,  that  from  them  issued  the  chief 
organizing  and  constructive  forces  in  the  state.  They  everywhere 
insisted  upon  the  credibility  and  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  ; 
the  personal  agency  of  God  in  the  natural  and  moral  government 
of  the  world ;  the  worth  of  prayer  as  a  divinely  established  organ 
for  human  use  in  securing  beneficent  ends ;  the  natural  depravity 
of  the  human  heart  and  the  necessity  of  its  regeneration  ;  the 
Bufficiency  of  the  atonement  to  meet  the  sinner's  wants ;  the 
irreparable  loss  of  the  soul  rejecting  the  atonement  through  this 
life ;  the  observance  of  the  christian  sabbath  in  the  worship  of  the 
sanctuary  ;  the  careful  training  of  children  in  christian  nurture  and 
admonition  ;  the  sanctity  of  the  sacramental  and  judicial  oaths ; 
the  inviolability  of  the  marriage  relation  ;  family  worship  as  main- 
taining the  integrity  of  the  home ;  the  divine  authority  of  the 
state  and  the  prompt  and  vigorous  execution  of  its  laws  ;  and  thus 
insisting,  they  believed,  with  all  saints,  in  God,  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  in  Jesus  Christ  His  only  Son,  our  Lord  ; 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  believed  in  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  communion  of  saints,  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  and  in  the  life  everlasting.  To  them  God 
was  no  abstraction,  but  the  most  intense  of  all  realities ;  who  created 
nature  and  antedates  nature  and  is  above  nature,  and  who  makes 
her  in  all  her  manifoldness  and  complications  an  organ  through 
which  He  acts  to  the  comprehension  of  His  creatures,  whose  laws 
are  His  mandates  and  accomplish  His  bidding.  Therefore  their 
faith  was  a  woiking  force  in  their  daily  life.  It  gave  a  determinate 
character  to  their  domestic,  their  literary  and  civil  institutions.  In 
this  they  were  true  to  the  spirit  of  the  Pilgrim  settlers  of  New 


204  Bennington  Centennial. 

England,  of  whom  it  has  been  said,  "  They  would  have  put  a  man 
into  the  pillory  who  should  have  so  insulted  their  consciences  and 
expressed  the  degradation  of  his  own,  as  to  deny  the  obligation  ot 
the  state  to  conform  to  the  same  standard  of  right  with  that  which 
should  govern  the  individual.  They  consulted  the  ministers  of 
religion  in  the  framing  of  their  constitutions  and  their  statutes,  at 
the  very  time  when  their  care  against  priestly  domination  was  so 
vigilant,  that  they  forbade  the  clergy  to  solemnize  the  rite  of  mar- 
riage. They  fought  the  battles  of  the  state,  with  Bibles  in  their 
knapsacks.  They  expounded  the  Institutes  of  Moses  and  sung  the 
Psalms  of  David,  on  the  eve  of  their  victories."  They  were  one 
in  that  biblical  faith  of  Nevt^  England  which  so  suffused  the  colo- 
nies at  a  later  date  as  to  move  "  that  act  of  the  American  Congi-ess, 
by  which  at  the  height  of  the  Revolution,  side  by  side  with  appro- 
priations for  the  purchase  of  gunpowder,  there  stands  an  order  for 
the  importation  of  twenty  thousand  copies  of  the  Scriptures." 

Resting  thus  in  the  Supernatural,  and  wielding  forces  that  were 
spiritual,  the  pioneer  clergymen  of  Vermont  taught  a  system  of 
truth  which  intensifled  individual  being,  and  compelled  each  man 
to  see  at  one  glance,  his  worth  and  his  peril.  In  enforcing  the 
doctrine  of  the  new  birth,  they  inaugurated  a  process  of  symmet- 
rical elevation,  which,  beginning  in  the  profoundest  depths  of  the 
soul,  advances  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God  unto  a  perfect  man.  But  since  each  man  is  a 
part  of  humanity,  such  truths  taught  set  to  work  a  power  diffusive 
among  men  like  gravitation  among  the  stars.  It  gave  authority  to 
the  social  virtues.  It  created  forces  which  became  constructive 
elements  in  society  and  the  world.  Elevating  the  individual,  it 
was  a  power  in  the  family,  and  through  the  family  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  through  the  community  in  the  state.  Speaking  of  the 
ideas  which  an  evangelical  and  faithful  pulpit  is  sure  to  start  into 
life,  a  living  scholar,  in  a  convention  sermon  before  the  Governor 
and  Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  says,  that  "like  Christianity,  these 
ideas  are  spiritual,  and  they  take  on  social  and  civil  and  political 
forms.  They  are  constructive  ideas.  They  work  in  building  insti- 
tutions, customs,  forms  and  reforms  of  government  much  as  the 


Westminster — Hubhardton —  Windsor.  205 

instinct  in  the  bee-hive  works.  From  the  intensity  which  the 
christian  theory  of  manhood  gives  to  individual  being,  start  forth 
as  collaterals  such  ideas  as  the  equality  of  the  race,  the  brotherhood 
of  man  with  man,  the  nobility  of  woman,  the  inhumanity  of  war, 
the  odiousness  of  slavery,  the  dignity  of  labor,  the  worth  of  edu- 
cation and  the  blessedness  of  charity.  Institutions  which  are 
the  consolidation  of  such  ideas,  Christianity  drops  from  her  open 
hand  in  and  around  the  homes  of  men,  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  And  the  point  of  significance  is  that  the  nations  never 
get  them  from  any  other  source."* 

Such  were  the  original  builders  in  Vermont ;  and  they  builded 
better  than  they  knew,  for  they  wei-e  workers  together  with  God. 
If  they  did  not  turn  the  world  in  these  regions  upside  down,  it  was 
because  they  were  present  at  the  laying  of  its  foundations  and  saw 
that  it  was  placed  at  the  start  right  side  up.  Their  influence, 
working  silently  like  the  occult  forces  of  nature,  permeated  all  the 
forms  of  life  in  which  the  early  settlers  expended  their  energy.  It 
was  felt  as  a  power  in  aid  of  the  religious  and  secular  press ;  it 
created  everywhere  the  spirit  of  good  neighborhood ;  it  gave 
ascendency  to  reason  in  the  town  meetings ;  it  enforced  wise  legis- 
lation ;  it  awakened  reverence  for  law  ;  it  elevated  the  authority  of 
the  court  and  gave  dignity  to  the  decisions  of  juries ;  it  called  into 
being  a  philanthropic  public  spirit,  and  made  the  people  wise  in 
forecasting  their  institutions  of  every  kind,  and  energetic  in  build- 
ing them  and  liberal  in  their  support.  It  rebuked  indolence, 
immorality  and  improvidence.  It  created  a  spirit  of  industry  and 
honorable  competition.  Felling  the  forests,  building  rude  cottages 
in  the  clearings,  erecting  churches  and  schoolhouses  at  every  cor- 
ner, and  teaching  the  water-wheel  to  flap  its  wings  in  every 
mountain  stream,  it  multiplied  everywhere  through  all  these  valleys 
and  among  these  hills,  the  sure  sign  of  thrift  in  the  accumulation  of 
property  and  in  intellectual  and  moral  advancement.  It  was  under 
such  religious  training  as  this,  and  through  it  as  their  instrument, 
that  the  pioneer  inhabitants  of  this  commonwealth  acted  their  part 


ProfesBor  Austin  Phelps,  D.  D.,  AudoTer  Theological  Semioary,  1861. 


206  Bennington    Centennial. 

as  the  servants  of  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  in  building  the 
house  that  was  builded  here  these  many  years  ago. 

But  consider  that  the  house  on  which  they  toiled,  and  which  they 
occupied,  and  made  their  munition  of  rocks,  was  left  by  them 
incomplete  and  fragmentary.  Passing  away,  they  transmitted  it  to 
us  as  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled  and  that  fadeth  not 
away  ;  not  that  we  may  occupy  it  in  luxurious  repose,  but  in  labori- 
ous industry  upon  it  for  its  completion.  Hence  should  the  inter- 
rogatory, propounded  by  the  Samaritans  to  Ezra  and  his  fellow- 
laborers,  be  put  to  us  to-day,  our  reply  could  be  fittingly  given  in 
the  exact  language  of  the  text.  "  We  are  the  servants  of  the  God 
of  heaven  and  earth  and  build  the  house  that  was  builded  these 
many  yeai's  ago."  Nor  should  we  give  this  reply  except  under  an 
inspiration  caught  from  the  original,  and  now  advanced,  conception 
of  the  structure,  as  it  shall  stand  foith  at  length  in  its  divine  com- 
pleteness, "  exceeding  magnifical,  of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout 
all  countries.'' 

But  who  are  the  persons  embraced  by  the  terra  we,  and  who  take 
to  themselves  the  title  of  "  servants  of  the  God  of  heaven  and 
earth  ?"  I  reply  that  the  term  is  used  in  the  widest  generality  and 
embraces  those  of  us,  citizens  of  the  state,  who  are  Episcopalians, 
and  who  have  forty-eight  chui'ches  and  missions  and  not  less  than 
three  thousand  communicants ;  those  of  us  who  are  Baptists,  and 
who  have  one  hundred  and  three  churches  and  eight  thousand 
communicants ;  those  of  us  who  are  Methodists,  and  who  have  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two  churches  and  fourteen  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fifty-five  members — not  counting  probationers  ;  those 
of  us  who  are  of  the  Congregational  order,  and  who  have  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  churches,  and — including  absentees — 
twenty-one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seven  members  ;  and 
besides  these,  those  of  us  as  well,  who  are  communicants  of  any 
other  denominational  faith  not  here  included,  and  even  many  of 
us  who  are  not  communicants  in  any  church,  and  yet  who  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  cooperate  with  those  who  are  ; — numbering, 
all  told,  above  five  hundred  churches,  and  having  over  fifty  thousand 
believers ; — these  are  they  whom  we   denominate  "  the  servants 


Westminster — Huhhardton —  Windsor.  207 

of  the  God  of  heaven  and  eai-th,"  and  who  are  now  building  in  the 
state,  the  house  which  was  builded  these  many — these  hundred — 
years  ago. 

And  now  why  did  our  fathers  labor  to  build  this  house,  this 
spiritual  house,  this  house  of  many  mansions,  and  why  do  we,  their 
descendants  enter  into  their  labors  and  prosecute  the  enterprise? 
This  house  has  been  a  costly  structure  to  rear ;  and,  built  not  of 
refuse  material,  hay,  wood  and  stubble,  but  of  silver  and  gold  and 
precious  stones,  it  has  involved  an  immense  outlay.  Why  all  this 
expense  ? 

My  i-eply  is  obvious.  Our  Fathers  built  this  house,  and  we 
succeed  them  in  the  work,  for  the  self-same  reason  that  actuated 
King  David,  in  his  extremity,  to  erect  his  altar  in  the  threshing-floor 
of  Oman  the  Jebusite ;  and  that  reason  is  identical  in  spirit  with 
the  one  that  united  all  Israel  afterwards  to  build,  inclosing  that 
altar,  the  most  costly  and  splendid  structure  ever  reared  by  the 
hand  of  man,  namely,  to  supplicate  the  favor  of  heaven  and  stay 
the  divine  judgments.  Like  King  David,  we  refuse  peremptorily 
to  offer  unto  the  Lord  that  which  (josts  us  nothing.  In  building 
this  habitation  for  the  Mighty  God  of  Jacob,  we  feel  that  we  can- 
not lavish  upon  it  an  excess  of  treasures.  Our  gratitud*  demands 
this  costly  and  perpetual  outlay.  But  consider  that  as  David's 
grateful  expenditure  brought  an  immeasurable  benefit  to  him  and 
his  nation,  so  our  gifts  and  labors,  expended  as  grateful  incense  in 
building  the  House  of  the  Redeemer's  Spiritual  Kingdom,  bring 
us  a  return  even  in  this  life,  which  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard 
neither  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive. 

To  begin  with  the  lowest  form  of  good,  consider  the  woi'th  of  the 
sanctu&ry  in  enhancing  the  material  prosperity  of  the  state.  What 
was  real  estate  worth  in  Sodom  after  righteous  Lot  withdrew  ? 
What  was  it  worth  in  Palestine  when  the  temple-service  ceased  to 
be  an  expense  to  the  Jews  ?  What  would  it  be  worth  in  Vermont 
had  our  fathers  neglected  to  build  the  Lord's  House  and  maintain 
the  public  worship?  Again,  the  absence  of  the  sanctuary  is  the 
presence  of  superstition  and  brutal  barbarity.  Destroy  our  churches 
and  disperse  our  worshipping  assemblies,  and  Vermont  would  soon 


208  JBennington   Centennial. 

be  shorn  of  her  glory  and  lie  a  melancholy  waste.  The  angel  of  des- 
olation would  hover  over  her  every  home, with  sword  drawn.  Besides^ 
the  sanctuary  is  the  repositoiy  of  spiritual  strength  and  beauty.  It  is. 
the  headquarters  of  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation.  It  is  the  maga- 
zine of  the  Divine  Forces.  Thence  issue  torth  civilizing  ideas.  It 
defends  against  private  and  public  calamity.  It  delivers  us  from 
the  three-fold  woe  of  ignorance,  superstition  and  crime.  It  creates 
and  fills  the  state  with  the  atmosphere  of  christian  virtue.  It  is 
affluent  of  everything  that  is  lovely  and  beautiful  and  of  good 
report.  It  reaches  in  its  ennobling  influence  every  fibre  and  func- 
tion of  the  state.  It  guides  and  purifies  the  currents  of  national 
life  and  health.  It  nerves  the  right  arm  of  labor.  It  purifies  the 
fountains  of  justice.  It  gives  authority  to  the  decisions  of  juries. 
It  elevates  and  sweetens  social  intercourse.  It  exchanges  the 
insane  fury  of  the  mob  in  the  street  for  the  discussions  of  freemen 
met  in  civil  council,  and  supplants  unreasoning  force  by  the  sover- 
eignty of  intellectual  power.  Under  its  dominion  the  spear  gives 
place  to  the  pen,  the  bayonet  to  the  book,  and  the  reign  of  "  chaos  and 
old  night  "  to  the  majesty  and  authority  of  law. 

There  is  no  form  of  evil  which  this  house  does  not  defend 
us  against ;  there  is  no  virtue  in  human  character,  no  orna- 
ment in  civilized  society,  no  glory  of  the  state,  which  it  does  not 
originate  and  foster.  At  the  very  start,  when  the  flood-gates  of 
French  infidelity  had  been  lifted  and  its  baleful  waters  were  coming 
in  upon  the  infant  state  like  a  deluge,  an  earnest  ministry  raised 
against  them  its  mighty  standard  and  rolled  back  the  sulphurous  tide. 
"There  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days."  "Sit  down,  thou 
bold  blasphemer,  and  listen  to  the  word  of  God,"  was  the  language 
of  Father  Dewey  in  the  Bennington  pulpit,  to  Ethan  Allen,  who^ 
taking  exception  to  what  had  been  taught  in  the  public  service  and 
vocally  declaring  it  false,  rose  in  his  seat  to  leave  the  house.  And 
the  veteran  hero  obeyed.     British  cannon  had  no  such  authority. 

If  this,  then,  is  the  House  which  our  Fathers  built, — this  its 
unspeakable  individi:;;].  social  ?*nd  public  worth — let  us  build  on; 
build  in  grateful  remembrance  of  the  past,  build  in  confident  hope  of 
the  future. 


Westminster — Huhhardton —  Windsor.  209 

Nothing  now  remains  in  this  service  but  to  extend  to  Your 
Excellency,  Sir,  the  Governor  of  the  state  and  to  the  Gentle- 
men of  your  Staff;  to  His  Honor  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  and 
the  Honorable  Council — Members  of  the  Legislature  ;  to  the  Gen- 
tlemen of  the  Bench  and  the  Bar  and  the  Press  and  the  Learned 
Professions ;  to  the  Teachers  of  our  Schools  of  Learning ;  to  the 
Citizens  of  Windsor,  whose  hospitality  is  so  generous ;  and  to 
you  All,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, — the  salutations  of  the  hour. 
These  we  extend  to  you,  subdued  by  the  solemnities  of  the  day,  by 
the  remembrance  of  the  distinguished  virtues  of  our  ancestors,  and 
the  absoluteness  of  our  dependence  upon  the  Divine  forbearance 
and  support.  Our  lines  are  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant  places  and  we 
have  a  goodly  heritage.  Our  Heavenly  Father  has  'wrought  hith- 
erto ;  and  our  Redeemer  has  wrought ;  and  our  fathers  and  mothers 
have  wrought ;  and  they  have  transmitted  to  us  a  rich  inheritance. 
As  we  belong  to  a  goodly  brotherhood  in  entering  into  their  labors, 
so  we  have  accorded  to  us  a  solemn  trust.  Our  state  occupies  but 
a  small  spot  within  the  bounds  of  the  Republic ;  but  small  as  Ver- 
mont is,  she  is  a  good  deal  to  us.  We  love  her ;  her  green  hills  ; 
her  mountains  and  valleys  and  streams ;  her  heroic  and  noble 
history  ;  her  institutions,  and  her  patriotic  devotion  to  the  Federal 
Union.  That  we  may  throw  around  her  the  defensive  Arm  of  the 
Almighty  and  defend  her  from  the  assaults  of  the  avenging  angel  ; 
that  we  may  perpetuate  her  in  honor  through  another  century,  and 
augment  her  influence  in  the  sisterhood  of  the  States,  let  us  apply 
ourselves,  with  all  diligence  to  this  prolonged  service — the  building 
of  the  Lord's  House  in  the  state  ;  and  if  we  do  not  see  it  in  our  day 
*'  exceeding  magnifical,  of  fame  and  of  glory  throughout  all  coun- 
tries," let  us  remember  that  this  is  its  destination ;  atid  that,  by  and 
by, — it  may  be  in  the  far  distant  ages — the  builders  shall  bring 
forth  the  headstone  thereof  with  shoutings,  ci-ying  Grace,  Grace 
unto  it" — shoutings  which  will  die  away  only  in  t^e  hallelujahs-  of 
the  eternal  reunion  of  all  who  have  toiled  in  its  erection. 

In  the  evening  Rev.  C.  B.  Hulbert,  D.  D.,  preached  a  sec- 
ond sermon  to  a  large  audience,  from  Psalms  ii :  3  ;    "  If  the 

f  omidations  be  destroyed,  what  can  the  righteous  do  ? " 
14 


210  Bennington  Centennial. 

MONDAY,  JULY  9th. 

The  day  was  ushered  in  by  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  in  the 
village,  and  a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns.  A  large  collection 
of  people  gathered  at  an  early  hour  to  aid  in  the  commemo- 
ration of  tlie  day 

The  procession  formed  at  the  Windsor  House  at  half  pas* 
ten  A.  M.,  under  the  direction  of  Hiram  Harlow,  chief  marshal, 
and  proceeded  to  the  common  in  the  following  order : 

1.  Windsor  Cornet  Band. 

2.  The  Governor  of  Vermont  with  Staff,  and  Hon.  E.  E. 
Phelps,  President  of  the  Day. 

3.  Hon.  Gilbert  A.  Davis,  Orator ;  Rev.  Franklin  But- 
ler, Reader. 

4.  Hon.  E.  W.  Stoughton,  Hon.  Luke  P.  Poland,  ex-Gov- 
ernor Ryland  Fletcher,  and  Hon.  Henry  Clark. 

5.  Clergy,  Citizens'  Committee,  Members  of  the  Press. 

6.  Citizens  of  Windsor  and  visitors. 

At  the  tent  some  five  thousand  people  had  assembled  to  listen 
to  the  exercises,  which  were  conducted  in  the  following  order : 

1.  Music  by  the  Windsor  Cornet  Band. 

2.  Welcome,  by  Dr.  Fi.  E.  Phelps,  President  of  the  Day,  who  said : 
*'  We  are  here  to  celebrate  the   one   hundredth  anniversary  of 

Vermont,  made  peculiarly  grand  by  its  being  the  very  spot  on 
which  some  of  its  first  struggles  for  freedom  were  held." 

3.  Prayer  by  Rev.  R.  T.  Searle  of  the  Congregational  church. 

4.  Music  by  the  Choir,  "  Hail  to  thee,  Liberty." 

5.  Governor  Horace  Fairbanks  gave  a  welcome  in  behalf  of  the 
state  as  follows : 

**  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present  on  this  famed  historic 
occasion,  and  to  bring  you  the  formal  salutations  and  greetings  of 
the  grand  old  commonwealth — tht,  Green  Mountain  State.'* 

0.  Reading  of  Vermont  Declaration  of  Independence,  at  West- 
minster, Januaiy,  1777,  by  Rev.  Franklin  Butler. 

7.  Music  by  Windsor  Cornet  Band. 

8-     Hon.  Gilbert  A.  Davis  pronounced  the  following 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  211 


HISTORICAL  ADDRESS. 

Mr.  JPresident^  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

We  commemorate  here  to  day  the  prowess  of  no  military  hero* 
no  glorious  victory  upon  the  blood-stained  field,  no  city  burned  or 
country  laid  waste ;  but  rather  the  foundation  by  our  ancestors  of 
a  free  and  independent  state  under  the  pressure  of  an  overwhelming 
necessity,  and  under  circumstances  of  the  most  remarkable  and 
unprecedented  character. 

We  who  live  to  witness  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  Ver- 
mont's existence,  grateful  for  our  civil  privileges  and  blessings, 
ought  to  do  honor  here  to-day  and  at  all  times  to  Vermont's  states- 
men of  1777.  Their  wrongs,  their  hardships,  their  perils  and  their 
triumphs  are  imperfectly  known.  Within  a  few  years  their  chai-ac- 
ters,  motives  and  conduct  have  been  publicly  assailed,  and  their 
vindication  is  liable  to  be  neglected  amid  the  busy  whirl  of  modem 
activity. 

The  Vermont  Historical  Society,  in  a  quiet,  unostentatious  man- 
ner, is  collecting  and  preserving  everything  relating  to  the  history 
of  this  state,  especially  its  Revolutionary  history,  and  its  publica- 
tions and  archives  are  already  of  immense  value. 

It  is  eminently  proper  that  we  renew  our  faith  in,  and  knowledge 
of,  these  men  and  of  the  events  resulting  in  the  formation  of  our 
noble  state,  and  that  these  commemorative  services  be  held  here  in 
Windsor.  Here  now  stands  the  building  in  which  was  given  the 
name — Vermont — to  be  as  everlasting  as  the  verdant  mountains 
suggesting  it ;  here  now  stands  the  building  within  which  the  first 
constitution  of  Vermont  was  adopted  ;  here  was  inaugurated  her 
first  governor,  and  here  assembled  her  first  legislature. 

You,  citizens  of  Windsor,  have  reason  to  cherish  the  memorieB 
clustering  around  these  venerable  buildings. 

You,  citizens  of  Vermont,  have  reason  to  perpetuate  the  memory 
of  those  deeds  of  June  and  July,  1777,  and  of  those  men,  who  in 
that  hour  of  darkness  and  gloom  launched,  here  in  Windsor,  amid 


212  Bennington   Centennial. 

the  galaxy  of  nations  this  new  "  star  that  never  sets."  On  Satur- 
day last  was  commemorated  at  Hubbardton  the  courage  and  valor 
of  the  patriots  who  fought,  although  not  victoriously,  on  the  7th 
day  of  July,  1777,  and  all  the  state  expect  to  go  to  Bennington  on 
the  16th  of  August  next  to  do  honor  to  the  victorious  patriots  who 
fought  at  the  battle  of  Bennington,  although,  in  fact,  that  battle 
was  fought  at  Hoosic,  in  the  state  of  New  York  ;  but  we  here 
to-day  commemorate  the  achievements  of  Vermonters,  in  Vermont, 
and  for  Vermont. 

To  me  has  been  assigned  the  task  of  preparing  an  historical 
address  upon  these  events.  When  I  examine  these  events  and  their 
importance  and  witness  the  gifted  and  brilliant  assemblage  around 
me,  I  must  bespeak  your  generous  forbearance  in  considering  the 
merits  of  my  efforts.  To  perform  this  duty,  I  must  necessarily 
deal  with  the  facts  of  history, — facts  gathered  only  by  the  most 
patient  researches.  However,  I  am  expected  merely  to  erect  the 
fi'amework  of  facts  and  dates  upon  which  the  eloquent  gentlemen 
who  are  to  succeed  me  are  to  put  the  finishing  touches  and  embel- 
lishments. 

To  understand  and  appreciate  the  great  events  consummated  here 
in  Windsor,  on  the  8th  day  of  July,  1777,  then  and  now  of  interest 
to  the  whole  state,  and  of  which  eveiy  Vermonter,  whether  at 
home  or  abroad,  is  proud,  we  must  examine  and  narrate  the  causes 
which  impelled  and  the  motives  which  prompted  the  foundation  of 
a  new  and  independent  state  here  in  this,  then,  wilderness,  and  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution  that  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people 
might  be  preserved  inviolate.  The  settlers  on  these  New  Hamp- 
shire Grants  had  purchased  and  paid  for  the  soil  they  had  tilled  ^ 
with  many  a  manly,  echoing  stroke  had  conquered  the  primeval 
forests,  erected  their  log  cabins,  built  the  humble  school  houses, 
reared  heavenward  the  church  spires  ;  had  fought  alternately  the 
treacherous  red  man  and  the  untamed  beasts  of  the  forest ;  but 
when  the  winter  of  their  discontent  was  melting  into  the  glorious 
summer  of  their  hopes  and  anticipations  of  "  home,  sweet  home," 
within  these  wilds,  they  were  astonished  and  alarmed  by  the  denial, 
by  the  royal  governor  of  New  York,  of  the  title  to  the  soil  acquired 


Westrninster — Ilubhardton —  Windsor.  213 

through  the  royal  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  and  by  the  intelli- 
gence that  land  speculators  and  jobbers,  principally  residing  in  or  near 
New  York  ciiy,  claimed  to  own  the  same  l%uds  under  titles  acquired 
through  the  royal  governor  of  New  York,  deriving  his  authority 
from  the  same  English  government  whence  came  the  commission 
and  authority  of  governor  Benning  Wentworth  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

The  independence  of  our  state  then,  grew  out  of  disputed  land 
titles — resistance  to  robbery  under  the  form  of  law.  Yes,  and  our 
national  independence  grew  out  of  the  principles  involved  in  an 
insignificant  tax  of  three  pence  per  pound  on  tea — taxation  with- 
out representation.  I  claim  that  this  state  principle  was  broader 
and  deeper  than  the  national. 

To  properly  present  this  subject  and  preliminary  thereto,  allow 
me  to  recapitulate  some  historical  facts,  somewhat  familiar  to  every 
Vermonter.  The  settlers  upon  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  in 
common  with  their  brethren  of  the  thirteen  colonies  had  suffered 
wrongs,  deep  and  vital,  from  the  British  government,  and  had 
heartily  united  in  the  attempts  by  petition  and  by  entreaty  to  secure 
a  peaceable  solution  of  the  difficulties,  and  they  had  actively  joined 
in  all  the  measures  adopted  by  the  colonies  for  self-defence  and  for 
independence  and  self-government.  Indeed,  in  Vermont,  at  West- 
minster, was  shed  the  first  blood  of  the  Revolution,  and  there  fell 
William  French,  the  first  martyr  iia  that  holy  cause.  I  propose 
not  to  recapitulate  the  story  of  these  common  wrongs.  The  knowl- 
edge of  them  is  the  alphabet  of  your  national  political  faith,  and 
the  theme  is  foreign  to  my  purpose.  The  inhabitants  of  the  Grants 
had  sufieied  wrongs  peculiar  to  themselves,  local  in  their  eflfect,  bat 
of  vital  importance  and  of  crushing  weight. 

Between  1749  and  1764,  governor  Wentworth  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  pursuance  of  orders  and  instructions  from  the  king  and 
privy  council,  had  proceeded  to  grant  the  lands  on  the  west  of  the 
Connecticut  river  to  a  line  within  twenty  miles  of  the  Hudson,  "to 
such  persons  as  would  settle  on  and  cultivate  the  same;  these  grants 
went  under  the  title  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  each  grant  being 
six  miles  square,  to  sixty-eight  proprietors  in  equal  shares,  whose 


S14  Bennington   Centennial. 

names  were  enteied  on  the  charter.''  Each  town  was  erected  into- 
a  corporation  and  authorized  to  act  as  such.  Governor  Wentwortb 
made  one  hundred  and  forty  grants  on  similar  principles,  but  no 
considerable  settlements  were  made  until  after  the  close  of  the 
French  war  in  1761.  These  titles,  under  grants  from  the  governor 
of  New  Hampshire,  made  prior  to  the  king's  order  in  council  of 
July  20,  1764,  were  perfect  and  cannot  be  successfully  assailed. 
This  order  was  promulgated  in  America  on  the  10th  day  of  April, 
A.  D.  1765,  and  up  to  that  date  it  was  generally  understood  in  both 
England  and  America  that  the  province  of  New  Hampshire 
extended  westerly  to  a  line  twenty  miles  east  of  the  Hudson  and  to 
Lake  Champlain,  and  this  included  the  present  territorial  limits  of 
this  state.  It  was  so  represented  on  all  the  English  and  American 
maps  of  that  period.  The  king's  order  in  council  of  July  20, 17H4, 
did  not  destroy  the  validity  of  these  charters,  but  only  settled  for  the 
then  future  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  provinces  to  be  the 
western  bank  of  the  Connecticut  river.  It  had  no  retroactive  effect. 
Upon  its  promulgation  the  govei-nor  of  New  York  assumed  and 
the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  relinquished  juriediction  west  oi 
the  Connecticut.  So  far  these  proceedings  did  not  alarm  the  set- 
tlers; and  they  at  first  acquiesced  cheerfully  in  this  change  of 
jurisdiction  ;  but  when  they  became  aroused  to  a  full  understanding 
of  the  purposes  and  claims  of  the  royal  governor  of  New  York, 
there  was  indeed  cause  for  consternation  and  alarm. 

On  finding  that  the  settlers  were  not  disposed  to  repurchase  their 
lands  at  the  rate  of  more  than  two  thousand  dollars  per  township, 
from  the  royal  governor  of  New  York,  which  they  had  already 
bought  and  paid  for,  when  an  unbroken  wilderness,  at  the  rate  of 
about  three  hundred  dollars  per  township  from  the  rojal  governor 
of  New  Hampshire,  whose  authority  was  equal  to  that  of  any  other 
royal  governor,  this  royal  governor  of  New  York  coolly  proceeded 
to  parcel  out  the  lands  anew — to  regrant  these  same  lands,  and  then 
proceeded  to  enforce  the  validity  of  these  grants  by  all  the  judicial 
and  executive  force  of  the  province.  What  could  these  poor,  widely 
scattered  settlers  do  ?  In  their  extremity  they  had  recourse  to 
their  humble  right  of  petition  to  the  throne,  and  Capt  Samuel 


Westmister — Huhbardton —  Windsor.  215 

Robinson  of  Bennington  was  sent  to  England  in  December,  1766^ 
as  the  agent  and  attorney  of  the  settlers  to  place  before  the  king 
and  privy  council  the  true  state  of  facts  and  to  secure  a  recognition 
of  their  titles.  This  mission  was  successful,  in  that  the  king  in 
council,  July  24,  1767,  made  his  order  in  these  memorable  words: 
"  doth  hereby  strictly  charge,  require  and  command  that  the  gov- 
*'  ernor  or  commander-in-chief  of  his  majesty's  province  of  New 
"  York,  for  the  time  being,  do  not  upon  pain  of  his  majesty's  highest 
"  displeasure,  presume  to  make  any  gi'ant  whatsoever,  of  any  pai-t  of 
"the  land  described  in  the  said  report  until  his  majesty's  further 
"  pleasure  shall  be  known  concerning  the  same." 

These  lands  covered  our  present  state,  and  that  order  was  never 
revoked.  Tet,  notwithstanding  this  order,  it  is  an  undisputed  fact 
that  subsequent  to  its  promulgation  ia  America  the  royal  governors 
of  New  York,  prior  to  June  12,  1776,  granted  1,934,990  acres 
within  the  present  limits  of  this  state  in  direct  disobedience  to  this 
positive  ordar  of  the  king  of  England,  and  this  included  nearly 
one-third  of  the  lands  of  this  state.  The  stimulus  to  these  extra- 
ordinary, oppressive  and  unlawful  acts  was  that  the  fees  therefor  to 
the  New  Yoik  government  officials  amounted  to  more  than 
$190,000,  of  which  more  than  $6(1,000  went  into  the  capacious 
pockets  of  the  royal  governors  of  New  Yoi'k. 

Added  to  the  foregoing  should  be  303,100  acres  of  military 
grants  within  this  state,  25,350  acres  of  which  were  given  to  one 
man,  James  Duane,  a  New  York  city  land  speculator.  These  were 
included  in  two  patents  issued  in  1771,  and  were  located  in  such 
irregular  parcels  as  to  include  the  choicest  lands  in  the  several 
townships  of  Rupert,  Dorset  and  Pawlet,  which  townships  had 
been  chartered  by  New  Hampshire  ten  years  previous  and  settled 
under  these  charters. 

The  fruits  of  Mr.  Robinson's  mission  were  indeed  small.  It  was 
absolutely  barren  of  practical  results.  The  New  York  governor 
and  council  seem  to  have  been  a  corrupt  "  returning  boai'd  "  in  this 
emergency,  and  counted  in  the  land  sharks  and  counted  out  the 
honest  settlers. 

The  throne  was  far  distant,  communication  with  England  was 


216  JBennington  Centennial. 

slow  and  expensive,  money  was  scarce  on  the  "  Grants,"  and  the 
result  of  the  first  mission  not  encouraginor. 

This  was  before  the  days  of  railroads,  telegraphs,  steamships, 
telephones,  daily  newspapers,  postal  facilities  and  other  modern 
inventions  that  have  bound  together  the  nationalities,  so  that  the 
morning's  pulsations  of  public  events  are  felt  to  the  remotest  limits 
of  civilization. 

The  New  York  officials  claimed  to  be  masters  of  the  situation. 
Writs  of  ejectment  were  showered  upon  the  settlers,  returnable  and 
triable  in  the  distant  city  of  Albany  on  the  Hudson.  But  the  quality 
of  New  York  iustice  was  tested,  and  in  June,  1770,  the  judges  of  the 
New  York  supreme  court  solemnly  decided  "the  titles  under  New 
Hampshire  to  be  invalid. 

A  case  involving  these  questions  came  on  for  trial  at  the  supreme 
court  at  Albany  in  June,  1770.  Ethan  Allen  had  interested  him- 
self in  the  defense,  and  was  in  Albany  at  the  trial.  The  settlers 
had  employed  as  their  attorney  Mr.  Ingersoll,  a  distinguished  lawyer 
from  Connecticut.  The  New  Hampshire  charters  were  pi-oduced 
and  oftered  in  evidence,  but  the  court  excluded  them,  on  which  Mr. 
Ingersoll  seeing  that  the  case  had  been  prejudged,  necessarily  aban- 
doned further  defense,  and  judgment  was  given  against  defendant. 
Thus  a  precedent  was  established  to  annihilate  all  the  titles  of  lands 
held  under  New  Hampshire  charters  west  of  the  Connecticut  river. 
Mr.  Allen  and  Mr.  Ingersoll  retired  from  court,  and  in  the  evening 
Mr.  Kemp,  the  king's  attorney,  Mr.  Banyar  and  Mr.  James  Duane, 
lawyers  and  land  speculators  of  New  York,  called  on  Mr.  Allen, 
proposing  to  give  him  and  other  men  of  influence  on  the  Grants, 
large  tracts  of  land  to  secure  peace  and  their  influence,  but  this 
proposal  was  rejected ;  and  among  other  conversation  Mr.  Kemp, 
the  king's  attorney,  observed  to  Ethan  Allen  that  the  people  settled 
on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  should  be  advised  to  make  the  best 
terms  possible  with  their  landlords,  for  "  might  often  prevailed 
against  right."  Mr.  Allen  answered,  "  the  gods  of  the  valleys  are 
not  the  gods  of  the  hills."  Mr.  Kemp  asked  for  an  explanation. 
Mr.  Allen  repJied  that  if  he  would  accompany  him  to  Bennington, 
the  phrase  should  be  explained.     The  phrase  was  explained  to  some 


Westminster — Iluhhardton —  Windsor.  217 

of  the  New  York  sheriffs  who  came  to  Vermont  to  enforce  writs 
of  possession  issued  on  these  unjust  judgments.  The  twigs  of  the 
wilderness  were  well  laid  on,  and  they  went  back  smarter  if  not 
wiser  men.  Sheriff  Ten  Eyck  came  on  one  occasion  to  Bennington 
with  a  posse  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  well  armed  men,  to  enforce 
a  writ  of  possession  against  James  Brackenridge.  Three  hundred 
and  fifty  Green  Mountain  Boys  in  ambuscade  awaited  his  coming. 
The  sheriff  demanded  admission.  Brackenridge  replied,  "  attempt 
it  and  you  are  a  dead  man.''  Two  divisions  of  Green  Mountain 
Boys  then  showed  their  hats  on  the  points  of  their  guns,  when  the 
sheriff  and  his  posse  just  then  concluded  that  they  had  no  interest 
in  the  dispute,  and  made  a  hasty  retreat  without  a  gun  being  fired 
on  either  side.  Varying  somewhat  from  Caesar's  celebrated  dis- 
patch, "  wem,  mdi,  vid"  this  sheriff's  return  probably  was,  "weni, 
mdi^  retraxL" 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  "  that  the  great  body  of  the  people  of 
New  York  felt  no  interest  in  enforcing  the  claims  involved  in  this 
controversy ;  on  the  contrary  the  popular  sentiment  was  favorable 
to  the  rights  of  the  settlers,  and  experience  had  proved  that  bayo- 
nets think,  and  that  the  militia  of  that  colony  could  not  be  brought 
to  act  against  them  with  any  effect.  The  settlers  appealed  to  the 
Higher  Law.  Conscious  of  the  righteousuesss  of  their  cause,  secure 
among  their  hills  and  niountaius,  they  resolved  to  defend  their 
lands  and  their  cabins,  Ethan  Allen,  Seth  Warner,  Remem- 
ber Baker  and  the  historic  host  of  others  came  to  the  front,  and  in 
fact  no  New  York  writ  of  possession  was  ever  enforced  on  the 
**  Grants."  For  thus  defending  their  possessions  and  homes,  the 
settlers  were  indicted  as  rioters,  large  sums  of  money  offered  for 
their  apprehension,  and  Ethan  Allen,  Seth  Warner  and  others 
included  by  name  in  an  act  of  outlawry  passed  by  the  New  York 
legislature,  dated  March  9,  1774,  by  which  act  the  judges  were 
empowered  to  award  sentence  of  death  without  the  criminal  ever 
being  arraigned  before  the  bar  of  the  court  and  tried  and  convicted 
by  a  jury  of  the  country.  Hence  came  the  necessity  for  united 
pui^poses  and  united  ac  tions.  They  were  in  the  same  relativa  posi- 
tion to  the  government  of  New  York  that  was  expressed  by  Ben- 


218  Bennington  Centennial. 

jamin  Franklin  when  he  signed  the  declaration  of  American  Inde> 
pendence :  "  We  must  indeed  all  hang  together  or  most  assm-edly 
we  shall  all  hang  separately."  Being  in  a  large  degree  united  in 
the  common  cause  against  New  York,  and  treated  as  outlaws  and 
rioters,  these  settlers  demonstrated  to  the  woi'ld  that  they  were 
men,  high  minded  men,  patriots,  friends  of  independence  and  lib- 
erty, of  justice  and  the  right,  capable  of  self  government,  zealous 
of  and  able  to  maintain  their  rights,  possessors  of  high  moral  and 
intellectual  characters.  Thus  situated,  self  government  followed 
almost  naturally.  The  towns,  those  little  democracies,  had  been 
created  under  the  New  Hampshire  charters  with  governments  in 
local  affairs  of  the  people,  and  by  the  people  in  town  meetings 
assembled.  The  town  committees  of  safety  were  elected  to  attend 
to  their  defense  and  security  against  the  New  York  claimants* 
These  town  committees  of  safety,  for  a  more  perfect  union  and  fox" 
the  better  protection  and  maintenance  of  their  common  interests, 
by  their  delegates  had  met  in  general  convention  to  devise  measures 
for  bearing  their  part  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  defending^ 
their  frontier  and  also  for  presenting  their  claims  to  inilependence 
before  Congress  by  correspondence  and  agents,  and  without  any 
written  compact  of  union,  had  discussed  and  executed  measures 
deemed  necessary  for  the  common  welfare. 

These  town  committees  of  safety  were  appointed  in  Cumberland 
and  Gloucester  counties  in  1774  and  1775,  and  these  when  met 
together  in  each  county  constituted  the  county  committee  of  safety. 
The  power  of  the  royal  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  was 
thoroughly  broken  in  eastern  Vermont  by  the  Westminster  massa- 
cre of  March  14  and  16,  1775.  The  last  expression  of  loyalty  to 
the  king  by  any  representative  body  in  the  "  Grants  "  was  by  the 
general  convention  of  committees  holden  at  Westminster  court 
house,  April  11,  1775,  when  this  massacre  was  denounced  and 
resistance  voted  against  the  New  York  government. 

The  spirit  of  American  independence  grew  apace  alter  the  events 
at  Lexington  transpired,  and  the  settlers  on  the  Grants,  in  common 
with  their  brethren  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  became  thoroughly 
aroused  in  their  opposition  to  the  royal  rule.     On  the  10th  day  of 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  219 

May,  1775,  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  stood  within  the  walls  of 
Fort  Ticonderoga,  and  Ethan  Allen,  in  thunder  tbnes,  "  in  the  name 
of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress,"  demanded 
and  received  the  surrender  of  that  fortress.  An  appeal  was  made 
to  the  Continental  Congress  through  Capt.  Heman  Allen  and  Dr. 
Jonas  Fay,  their  agents,  in  1776. 

At  a  general  convention  of  delegates  from  towns  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Green  Mountains,  holden  at  Dorset,  January  16,  1776, 
Capt.  Heman  Allen  and  Dr.  Jonas  Fay  had  been  appointed  to  pre- 
sent to  the  Honorable  Continental  Congress  the  "  humble  address, 
remonstrance  and  petition  "  of  the  settlers  on  the  Grants,  repre- 
senting their  loyalty  to  the  general  cause  under  the  Continental 
Congi-ess,  but  at  the  same  time  expressing  their  unwillingness  to 
serve  under  officers  appointed  by  New  York,  and  asking  "  that  for 
the  future  your  petitioners  shall  do  duty  in  the  continental  service 
(if  required)  as  inhabitants  of  said  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and 
not  as  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  New  York,  or  subject  to  the 
limitations,  restrictions  or  regulations  of  the  militia  of  said  prov- 
ince, and  that  commissions  as  your  honors  shall  judge  meet,  be 
granted  accordingly." 

The  first  general  convention  on  the  Giants  was  held  at  Dorset, 
July  24,  1776,  and  of  the  thirty-five  towns  represented  only  one, 
Townshend,  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain.  At  this  con- 
vention Capt.  Allen  reported  the  i*esults  of  his  mission  to  the  Con- 
tinental Congress ;  results  which  were  embodied  in  the  resolution 
adopted  by  Congress  June  4,  1776,  "that  it  be  recommended  to 
the  petitioners  for  the  present,  to  submit  to  the  government  of  New 
York  and  contribute  their  assistance  with  their  countrymen  in  the 
contest  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Uyited  Colonies,  but  that 
such  submission  ought  not  to  prejudice  the  right  of  them  or  others 
to  the  lands  in  controversy,  or  any  part  of  them,  nor  be  construed 
to  affirm  or  admit  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York  in  and  over  that 
country,  and  when  the  present  troubles  are  at  an  end  the  final 
determination  of  their  rights  may  be  mutually  referred  to  proper 
judges."  The  New  ^ork  part  of  this  resolution  was  not  agreeable 
to  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  but  they  were  somewhat  encouraged 


220  B«7inington   Centennial. 

at  thus  being  accorded  belligerent  rights  at  least.  The  convention 
then  resolved  (with  only  one  dissenting  voice)  "  that  application 
be  made  to  the  inhabitants  of  said  Grants  to  form  the  same  into  a 
separate  District,"  and  then  chose  a  committee  to  treat  with  the 
inhabitants  on  the  east  side  of  the  Green  Mountains,  relative  to 
their  associating  with  this  body  ;  and  Capt.  Heman  Allen  cf  Mid- 
dleboro,  Col.  Wm.  Marsh  of  Manchester,  and  Jonas  Fay  of  Ben- 
nington, in  conjunction  with  Capt.  Samuel  P'letcher  and  Mr.  Joshua 
Fish  of  Townsend,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  exhibit  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  convention  to  said  inhabitants  and  do  the  business 
as  above.  The  committee  worked  with  effect,  and  on  the  sixth  day 
of  August,  Heman  Allen,  Jonas  Fay  and  William  Marsh,  attended 
a  joint  meeting  of  the  committees  of  safety  of  Cumberland  and 
Gloucester  counties  at  Windsor.  Thirteen  members  of  the  two 
committees  were  present  and  the  meeting  was  holden  at  the  town 
house.  "  Various  papers  were  read  by  them  bearing  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  a  separate  jurisdiction  ;  the  boundaries  of  a  new  state  were 
described,  and  the  approbation  of  the  committees  was  sought  to 
the  projects  of  the  Dorset  convention." 

For  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  views  of  those  residing  east 
of  the  Green  Mountains,  the  people  in  each  town  were  invited  to 
assemble  in  town  meeting  and  express  theii*  opinion  as  to  what 
course  they  should  deem  it  best  to  pursue. 

When  the  Dorset  convention  reassembled,  by  adjournment,  on 
the  25th  day  of  September,  1776,  of  the  towns  on  the  east  side  of 
the  mountains,  Marlboro,  Guilford,  Windsor,  Londonderry,  Rock- 
ingham, Dummerston,  Westminster  and  Halifax,  were  represented 
by  delegates,  and  Wilmington  and  Cumberland  by  letter.  At  this 
convention  this  "Covenant  or  Compact"  was  made  and  subscribed 
by  the  members  of  the  convention  for  themselves  and  constituents, 
for  the  security  of  their  •'  Common  liberties  and  properties  in  con- 
junction with  the  Free  and  Independent  States  of  America :" 

"  Whereas,  This  convention  have  for  a  series  of  years  had 
under  their  particular  considerations  the  disingenuous  conduct  of 
the  former  colony  (now  the  state  of  New  York)  toward  the  inhab- 
itants of  that  district  of  land  commonly  called  and  known  by  the 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  221 

name  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  the  several  illegal,  unjust- 
ifiable and  unreasonable  measures  they  have  taken  to  deprive  by- 
fraud,  violence  and  oppression,  those  inhabitants  of  their  property, 
and  in  particular  their  landed  interest ;  and  as  this  convention  has 
reason  to  expect  a  continuance  of  the  same  kind  of  disingenuity, 
unless  some  measures  effectually  be  taken  to  form  the  said  district 
into  a  separate  and  distinct  one  from  New  York  ;  and  whereas,  it 
at  present  appears  to  this  convention  that  for  the  foregoing  reasons, 
together  with  the  distance  of  road  which  lies  between  this  district 
and  New  York,  it  will  be  very  inconvenient  for  those  inhabitants 
to  associate  or  connect  with  them  for  the  time  being,  dii-ectly  or 
indirectly  : 

"  Therefore,  this  convention  being  fully  convinced  that  it  is  nec- 
essary that  every  individual  in  the  United  States  of  America  should 
exert  themselves  to  their  utmost  abilities  in  the  defense  of  the 
liberties  thereof,  and  that  this  convention  may  notify  the  Public  of 
their  punctual  attachment  to  the  said  common  cause,  at  present  as 
well  as  heretofore,  we  do  make  and  subscribe  the  common  cove- 
nant, via. : 

"  "We  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of  that  district  of  Lands  com- 
monly called  and  known  by  the  name  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants,  being  legally  delegated  and  authorized  to  transact  the  pub- 
lic and  political  affairs  of  the  aforsaid  District  of  Lands,  for  our- 
selves and  constituents,  do  solemnly  covenant  and  engage  that,  for 
the  time  being,  we  will  strictly  and  religiously  adhere  to  the  sev- 
eral resolves  of  this  or  a  future  convention  constituted  on  said 
district  by  the  free  voice  of  the  friends  to  American  Liberties,  that 
^hall  not  be  repugnant  to  the  resolves  of  the  hon'ble  Continental 
Congress,  relative  to  the  Genei'al  Cause  of  America." 

Another  session  of  this  convention  was  holden  by  adjournment 
at  Westminster,  October  30,  1776,  at  which  measures  were  taken 
to  further  the  project  for  the  formation  of  a  separate  state,  but  it 
remained  for  the  next  sitting  of  the  convention  by  adjournment  at 
Westminster  in  January,  1777,  to  adopt  and  promulgate  the  formal 
declaration  of  state  independence  which  has  been  read  in  your 


222  Bennington  Centennial. 

hearing,  when  the  name  of  New  Connecticut  was  given  to  the  new 
born  state. 

We  now  come  to  the  adjourned  session  of  this  convention  which 
was  holden  at  the  town  house  here  in  Windsor,  commencing  on  the 
fourth  day  of  June,  1777,  at  which  forty-nine  towns  were  repre- 
sented by  seventy-two  delegates,  and  two  by  letter.  The  doings  of 
this  convention  are  within  the  scope  of  our  commemorative  ser- 
vices. Then  and  here  was  given  to  our  state  that  name,  Vermont, 
that  is  now  known  and  honored  throughout  the  world.  Windsor 
has  this  high  honor. 

Aware  of  the  importance  of  their  undertaking,  the  i"oll  of  dele- 
gates was  called,  and  seventy-one  voted  to  proceed  to  business 
under  the  declaration  of  independence  adopted  at  Westminster  in 
the  preceding  January,  and  the  record  continues :  "  The  said  sev- 
enty-one members  did  renew  their  pledges  to  each  other  by  all  the 
ties  held  sacred  among  men,  and  resolve  and  declare  that  they  were 
at  all  times  ready,  in  conjunction  with  their  brethren  in  the  United 
States,  to  contribute  their  full  proportion  towards  maintaining  the 
present  just  war  against  the  fleets  and  armies  of  Great  Britain. 
That  the  public  may  be  capable  of  forming  a  just  idea  of  the 
reasons  which  so  necessarily  obliged  the  inhabitants  of  the  district 
before  described  to  declare  themselves  to  be  separate  and  distinct 
from  the  state  of  New  York,  the  following  complaints  are  hereto 
subjoined." 

The  convention  thereupon  proceeded  to  set  forth  fifteen  reasons 
that  had  impelled  them  to  these  measures  for  independence.  Their 
words  were  the  bitter,  burning  words  of  the  oppressed  and  injured. 
Honest  men  they  were  ;  pure  patriots  they  were  ;  kind  fathers  and 
noble  citizens  ;  and  they  had  gathered  here  in  Windsor  for  self-pro- 
tection and  self-government.  With  malice  towards  none,  these  men 
in  the  fourteenth  article  of  their  Complaints,  use  these  weighty 
words : 

"In  truth  they,  the  late  government  of  New  York,  have  spared 
neither  cost  nor  pains,  nor  been  wanting  in  using  every  artful  insin- 
uation in  their  power,  (however  unwarrantable  by  the  laws  of  God 
or  man,)  to  defraud  these  inhabitants  out  of  all  their  landed  prop- 


Westminster — Huhhardton —  Windsor.  223 

«rty ;  and  nothing  but  consciences  void  of  offense  towards  God 
and  man,  to  whose  impartial  judgment  we  appeal,  could  have 
induced  these  inhabitants  to  have  run  the  risk,  and  to  have  under- 
gone tlie  hardships  and  fatigues  they  have  borne,  for  the  salvation 
•of  their  lives,  liberties  and  properties.  In  the  several  stages  of  the 
aforesaid  apprehension,  we  have  petitioned  his  Brittanic  majesty 
in  the  most  humble  manner  for  redress,  and  have,  at  very  great 
■expense,  received  several  reports  in  our  favor ;  and  in  other 
instances  wherein  we  have  petitioned  the  late  legislative  authority 
■of  New  York,  these  petitions  have  been  treated  with  neglect.  We 
shall  therefore  only  remind  the  public  that  our  local  situation  alone 
is  a  sufficient  reason  for  our  declaration  of  an  independence,  and  must 
therefore  announce  a  separation  from  New  York,  and  reter  the 
public  to  our  declaration  made  the  15th  day  of  January  last,  and 
published  in  the  Connecticut  Courant,  and  sincerely  wish  that  in 
future  a  lasting  peace  may  continue  between  the  state  of  New 
York  and  this  with  the  other  United  States  of  America." 

Actuated  by  these  high  and  honorable  motives,  and  compelled  to 
take  the  position  that  they  did  through  a  stern  sense  of  duty,  the 
•descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  in  this  convention,  here  in  Windsor 
assembled,  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  1777,  issued  a  proclamation 
appointing  the  18th  day  of  June,  1777,  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of 
fasting  and  prayer :  "  That  we  may  humble  our  hearts  before  God, 
and  implore  Him  to  avert  the  impending  judgments,  remove  the 
«word  of  our  unnatural  enemies  from  us,  sanctify  the  awful  powers 
of  Divine  Providence,  grant  His  blessings  on  our  councils  and 
arms,  and  direct  our  generals,  guard  this  state  from  the  invasion  of 
the  savages,  direct  in  our  election  of  members  for  establishing 
government,  bless  the  labors  of  our  hands,  grant  suitable  seasons 
of  the  year  for  seed  time  and  harvest,  revive  religion  and  virtue, 
bless  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  water  His  churches  with 
heavenly  gi*ace." 

Here  in  Windsor,  also,  at  this  convention,  was  exclusive  juris- 
diction first  assumed  by  Vermont ;  county  committees  of  safety 
commanded  to  desist  from  acting  under  authority  of  New  York ; 
the  jail  at  Westminster  secured ;   and  provisions  made  by  resola- 


224:  Bennington   Centennial. 

tions  "  that  the  committees  of  the  several  towns  be  and  hereby  are 
empowered  to  seize  and  secure  all  and  every  pei'son  and  their 
estates  that  appear  to  be  eneraical  to  their  country,  and  to  proceed  ta 
trial  in  manner  and  form  "  as  set  forth  in  the  resolution,  "  to  give 
sentence  against  him  or  them,  and  order  the  said  judgment  to  be 
put  in  execution." 

The  convention  then  provided  for  the  election  of  delegates  in 
each  town  on  June  23d,  to  attend  a  general  convention  at  Windsor 
on  the  2d  day  of  July  then  next,  "to  choose  delegates  to  attend  the 
general  Congress,  a  Committee  of  Safety,  and  to  form  a  Constitu- 
tion for  said  state."  This  convention  also  appointed  a  committee 
to  make  a  draft  of  a  constitution,  and  a  committee  consisting  of 
Col.  William  Marsh,  James  Mead,  Ira  Allen  and  Capt.  Salisbury,  to 
wait  on  the  commander  of  Ticonderoga,  and  consult  with  him 
respecting  the  regulations  and  defense  of  the  frontiers,  and  then 
adjourned  to  the  2d  day  of  July,  1777,  at  Windsor.  While  thi* 
committee  was  at  Ticonderoga,  Lt.  Gen.  Burgoyne  appeared  on 
Lake  Champlain  with  a  splendidly  equipped  army  and  fleet,  confi- 
dent of  a  triumphant  march  through  Vermont  and  New  York,  and 
by  effecting  a  junctui*e  with  the  forces  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  at 
New  York  city,  to  accomplish  what  Gen.  Sherman  did  in  his  cele- 
brated *' march  to  the  sea."  Resting  at  Crown  Point,  Burgoyne 
gent  a  scout  of  about  three  hundred,  mostly  Indians,  to  land  at 
Otter  Creek,  to  annoy  the  frontiers  of  the  state.  Gen.  Poor 
refused  to  allow  any  troops  to  the  committee  for  the  defense  of  the 
frontiers,  but  allowed  Col.  Warner  to  go  with  the  committee,  wha 
soon  raised  men  sufficient  to  repel  the  assailants.  All  who  were 
members  of  the  convention  left  the  militia  and  repaired  to  Windsor 
on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1777. 

This  being  an  adjourned  convention,  it  is  probably  true  that 
nearly  all  who  were  present  at  the  June  convention  were  here,  and 
some  new  delegates  elected  on  the  23d  of  June.  No  oflicial  record 
or  full  unofficial  account  of  its  proceedings  has  ever  been  published^ 
and  aftar  tiie  most  circfiil  researches  we  are  left  in,  doubt  as  to  the 
personnel  of  its  membership,  and  only  twenty-four  names  can  be 
mentioned  witji  certainty,  and  fourteen   more  with  probability  of 


Westminster — Hubhardton —  Windsor.  225 

correctness.  These  thirty-eight  delegates  represented  twenty-four 
towns,  viz. :  Bradford,  Barnet,  Bennington,  Chester,  Clarendon, 
Colchester,  Cavendish,  Dummerston,  Guilford,  Hartford,  Marlboro, 
Newhury,  Porafret,  Poultney,  Rockingham,  Rutland,  Shaftsbury, 
Sunderland,  Tinmouth,  Townshend,  Pownal,  Wilmington,  West- 
minster and  Windsor.  And  there  is  good  authority  for  adding  to 
these,  Hai'tland,  Norwich,  Woodstock,  Sharon  and  Reading. 

Standing  as  we  now  do  on  the  threshold  of  the  convention  of 
July  2,  1777,  let  us  take  a  sweeping  glance  at  the  state  of  public 
affairs,  and  judge  thereby  of  the  bravery  and  wisdom  of  these  men. 
Put  yourselves  in  their  place — would  you  have  dared  to  do  what  they 
did  here,  one  hundred  years  ago  ?  In  addition  to  the  vital  conflict 
pending  with  New  York  for  a  foothold  even  among  these  hills  and 
mountains,  the  settlers  upon  the  Grants  were  not  united,  on  this 
project  of  state  independence.  In  some  towns,  like  Brattleboro, 
Springfield  and  Weathersfield,  the  "Yorkers"  were  in  the  majority, 
in  other  towns  in  large  and  efficient  minorities.  Cumberland 
county,  which  then  comprised  the  present  counties  of  Windham  and 
Windsor,  was  at  this  time  represented  in  the  New  York  Provincial 
Congress. 

On  the  same  4th  day  of  June,  1777,  there  had  assembled  at 
Westminster  a  convention  of  the  adherents  of  New  York  and  of 
opponents  of  the  new  state,  at  which  nine  towns  were  represented 
by  thirteen  delegates,  and  this  convention  assembled  by  adjourn- 
ment at  the  same  place  on  June  17th  and  18th,  and  again  at  Brat- 
tleboro on  the  26th  ;  and  the  populous  and  influential  towns  of 
Brattleboro,  Springfield  and  Weathersfield  adhered  to  this  oppo- 
sition. 

The  Continental  Congress  had  assumed  a  hostile  attitude  towards 
these  patriots,  and  on  the  30th  day  of  June,  1777,  "  Resolved  that  the 
independent  government  attempted  to  be  established  by  the  people 
styling  themselves  inhabitants  of  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  can 
derive  no  countenance  or  justification  from  the  act  of  Congress 
declaring  the  United  Colonies  to  be  independent  of  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain,  nor  from  any  other  act  or  resolution  of  Congress." 
Add  to  these  surroundings  and  internal  discords  the  fact  that  the 
15 


226  Bennington   Centennial. 

exultant  army  of  Burgoyne,  with  his  savage  allies,  was  then 
approaching  Fort  Ticonderoga,  then  i*egarded  as  the  military  key 
of  this  whole  northern  department,  with  a  fleet  of  formidable 
strength,  threatening  to  capture  that  forti'ess  and  lay  waste  Ver- 
mont as  well  as  New  York,  placing  in  imminent  peril  the  families, 
homes  and  possessions  of  the  members  of  this  convention,  and  you 
have  before  you  the  alarming  and  discouraging  circumstances 
under  which  this  convention  assembled.  If  ever  men  were  brave, 
they  were  ;  if  ever  men  were  patriotic,  they  were. 

On  the  2d  day  of  July,  1777,  the  delegates  having  assembled  and 
elected  Joseph  Bowker  of  Rutland,  president,  and  Jonas  Fay  of 
Bennington,  secretary,  prayer  was  offered  for  wisdom  and  guid- 
ance, and  a  sermon  delivered  by  Rev.  Aaron  Hutchinson  of  Pomfret. 
The  constitution  which  had  been  adopted  by  Pennsylvania  in  1776, 
by  a  convention  of  which  Benjamin  Franklin  was  president,  was 
placed  before  them  as  a  model  by  the  committee  who  had  been 
appointed  to  draft  such  an  instrument.  This  committee  also  placed 
before  them  a  letter  from  Di*.  Thomas  Young  of  Philadelphia, 
bearing  date  April  11,  1777,  and  addressed  "  To  the  inhabitants  of 
Vermont,  a  free  and  independent  state,  bounding  on  the  river  Con- 
necticut and  Lake  Champlain,"  and  filled  with  encouragement  and 
counsel.  The  variations  of  the  first  constitution  of  Vermont  from 
that  of  Pennsylvania  are  all  additions,  and  in  my  judgment, 
improvements  ;  but  of  this  I  shall  speak  more  fully  hereafter.  On 
the  second  day  of  their  sittings  the  business  of  the  convention  was 
interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  bearing  a  dispatch  from 
Col.  Seth  Warner,  dated  at  Rutland,  July  1,  1777,  informing  the 
convention  "  that  the  enemy  had  come  up  the  lake  with  seventeen 
or  eighteen  gunboats,  two  large  ships  and  other  craft ;  that  an 
attack  was  expected  upon  Ticonderoga  every  hour;  and  calling  upon 
the  militia  of  Vermont,  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  to  join 
him  as  soon  as  possible  ;"  calling  upon  the  convention  "  to  call  out 
the  militia  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountain,"  and  in  urgent  terms 
reciting  the  perils  of  the  situation  and  the  necessity  of  immediate 
relief  with  men  and  provisions  as  "  tlie  loss  of  so  important  a 
post  may  be  irretrievable."     A  copy  of  this  dispatch  was  imniedi- 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  227 

ately  forwarded  to  the  general  assembly  of  New  Hampshire  then 
in  session  at  Exeter,  with  an  earnest  and  patriotic  letter  from  the 
convention. 

Having  taken  such  measures  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Ticonderoga 
and  the  defense  of  the  frontier,  the  convention  proceeded  to  con- 
sider the  proposed  constitution.  The  business  was  new  and 
important,  requiring  careful  consideration  and  discussion.  Ira 
Allen,  who  was  a  member,  informs  us  in  his  history  of  Vermont, 
that  their  proceedings  were  far  from  harmonious,  different  opinions 
prevailing  among  the  members,  and  that  in  order  to  reconcile  these 
differences  and  to  avoid  discord,  a  large  majority  in  one  instance 
conformed  to  a  minority,  when  deliberating  on  the  articles  of  the 
constitution.  This  labor  was  continued  from  the  2d  to  the  8th, 
when  the  deliberations  were  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  a  messen- 
ger from  Gen.  St.  Clair,  bearing  a  letter  addressed  to  the  "President 
of  the  Vermont  Convention  at  Windsor,"  announcing  that  on  the 
night  of  the  6th  the  American  army  had  evacuated  the  forts  of 
Ticonderoga  and  Mt.  Independence ;  that  the  army  was  in  full 
retreat  for  Bennington  and  had  reached  Castleton  ;  that  the  battle 
of  Hubbardton  was  in  progress  when  the  messenger  left,  the  event 
of  which  I'emained  undetermined  ;  and  urging  that  reinforcements 
and  provisions  be  sent  by  the  shortest  route  to  Bennington. 

This  intelligence  must  have  filled  with  consternation  and  alarm 
the  members  of  this  convention.  The  family  of  the  president,  as 
well  as  those  of  many  other  members  were  exposed  to  the  foe.  Ira 
Allen,  who  was  a  member,  and  at  Windsor  at  the  time,  says :  "  In 
this  awful  crisis,  the  convention  was  for  leaving  Windsor  "  with 
their  great  work  unfinished.  In  this  hour  of  peril,  as  if  to  add  to 
the  terrors  surrounding  them,  and  still  further  to  impress  them  with 
the  perils  of  the  situation,  "  a  severe  thunder  storm  came  on  and 
gave  them  time  to  reflect,  while  other  members,  less  alarmed  at  the 
news,  called  the  attention  of  the  whole  to  finish  the  constitution, 
which  was  then  read  paragraph  by  paragraph  for  the  last  time  and 
adopted,"  amid  the  roar  of  Heaven's  artillery.  The  convention 
directed  the  election  of  state  officers  to  be  holden  the  ensuing 
December,  and  the  legislature  to  meet  at  Bennington  the  succeed- 


228  Bennington  Centennial. 

ing  January,  and  then  appointed  a  council  ot  safety,  consisting  of 
twelve  members,  to  administer  the  govei*nmental  affairs  of  the  new 
state  until  some  other  provision  was  made,  and  voted  to  establish  a 
loan  office  with  Ira  Allen  as  its  trustee.  Col.  Joseph  Marsh  of 
Hartford,  Col.  William  Williams  of  Wilmington,  and  Col.  Timothy 
Brownson  of  Sunderland,  were  "  appointed  a  committee  to  procure 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  arms  for  the  state,  as  the  exigency  of  the 
same  shall  require,  drawing  them  if  possible  out  of  some  continen- 
tal btores,"  but  authorized,  if  need  be,  to  hire  not  exceeding  £4,000 
upon  the  credit  of  the  state. 

Having  accomplished  these  important  purposes,  the  convention 
adjourned  on  the  8th. 

The  events  following  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Ticonderoga 
and  the  defeat  at  Habbardton,  including  the  glorious  victory  at 
Bennington,  in  which  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  boi*e  so  important 
a  part,  and  the  more  glorious  victory  at  Saratoga,  had  so  deeply 
engi'ossed  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Vermont,  that  no  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  the  election  provided  for  under  the  new 
constitution.  To  Ira  Allen  had  been  committed  the  task  of  getting 
the  new  constitution  printed,  which  he  procured  to  be  done  in  the 
ensuing  November,  at  Hartfoi'd,  Connecticut.  The  public  alarm 
having  subsided,  "  many  of  the  citizens  returned  to  their  habita- 
tions, and  the  Council  of  Safety  again  paid  attention  to  the  consti- 
tution." The  preamble  was  written  by  Ira  Allen  and  Thomas 
Chittenden,  president  of  the  council  of  safety,  at  Williamstown, 
Massachusetts,  in  November,  1777,  in  which  are  set  forth  the 
reasons  why  the  inhabitants  of  Vermont  had  been  compelled  to 
dissolve  their  connection  with  New  York.     Ira  Allen  says  : 

"  There  was  not  time  before  the  day  assigned  for  the  election  to 
print  and  publish  the  constitution,  therefore  the  convention  was 
summoned  to  meet  at  Windsor  in  December,  1777.  They  met, 
revised  the  constitution,  and  appointed  the  first  election  to  be  on 
the  12th  day  of  March,  1778.  One  difficulty  was  discovered  by 
some  members  of  this  convention  who  concluded  the  best  way  to 
evade  it  was  to  keep  it  in  as  small  a  circle  as  possible,  the  difficulty  was 
to  establish  the  constitution  without  the  voice  of  the  people  further 


Westminster — Huhhardton —  Windsor.  229 

than  was  vested  in  the  convention  by  their  credentials  that  author- 
ized them  to  form  a  constitution,  but  were  silent  as  to  its  ratiii cation, 
and  they  had  no  ancient  government  to  predicate  their  claims  upon  ; 
besides,  intestine  divisions  and  different  opinions  prevailed  among 
the  people,  and  even  in  the  convention.  *  ♦  *  As  the 
people  seemed  inclined  for  a  popular  government,  the  constitution 
was  so  made.  #  ♦  •  y^d  the  constitution  been  then 
submitted  to  the  people  for  their  revision,  amendment  and  ratifica- 
tion, it  is  very  doubtful  whether  a  majority  would  have  confirmed 
it,  considering  the  resolutions  of  Congress,  and  their  influence  at 
that  time,  as  well  as  the  intrigues  and  expense  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  New  York,  who  endeavored  to  divide  and  subdivide 
the  people." 

Representatives  were  ele(!ted  and  the  first  general  assembly  of 
the  state  of  Vermont  assembled  here  in  Windsor  on  the  12th  day 
of  March,  1778,  the  votes  of  the  freemen  of  the  state  were  can- 
vassed, and  the  persons  who  had  a  majority  of  votes  for  the  respect- 
ive offices  of  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  twelve  councillors  and 
a  treasurer,  declared  elected.  Here  was  inaugurated  Thomas 
Chittenden,  the  first  governor  of  Vermont,  and  Joseph  Marsh  of 
Hartford,  the  first  lieutenant-governor. 

A  few  remai'ks  as  to  the  constitution  itself,  and  I  am  done.  The 
first  section  of  the  Pennsylvania  constitution,  as  does  oui's, 
announced  in  formal  terms  "  that  all  men  are  born  free  and  inde- 
pendent, and  have  certain  natural,  inherent  and  inalienable  rights, 
amongst  which  are  the  enjoying  and  defending  liberty  ;  acquiring, 
possessing  and  protecting  property,  and  pursuing  and  obtaining 
happiness  and  safety."  So  far  the  two  instruments  concur. 
Nothing  shows  more  plainly  the  temper  and  spirit  of  this  conven- 
tion than  these  words,  that  were  added  to  that  section  : 

"  Therefore,  no  male  person,  born  in  this  country  or  brought 
from  over  sea,  ought  to  be  holden  by  law  to  serve  any  person  as  a 
servant,  slave  or  apprentice,  after  he  arrives  to  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  nor  female  in  like  manner  after  she  arrives  to  the  age  ot 
eighteen  years,  unless  they  are  bound  by  their  own  consent  after 


330  Bennington    Centennial. 

they  arrive  at  such  age,  or  bound  by  law,  for  the  payment  of  debts, 
damages,  fines,  costs,  and  the  like." 

This  principle  thus  early  became  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
state. 

Vermont  was  the  first  state  to  prohibit  slavery  by  constitutional 
provision,  and  of  this  fact  we  may  proudly  boast.  A.ud  in  fact  no 
slave  was  ever  lawfully  owned  within  this  state,  because  no  one 
could  ever  produce  a  bill  of  sale  from  God  Almighty  ;  such  being 
the  requirements  of  Vermont  law,  as  announced  by  Judge  Har- 
rington. 

Referring  to  this  constitution  ex-governor  Hall  pertinently 
remarks : 

"  The  form  of  government  was  strongly  democratic  in  its  char- 
acter. The  elective  franchise  was  given  to  '  every  man  of  the  full 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  had  resided  in  the  state  for  one 
year.'  Every  such  person  was  also  eligible  to  any  office  in  the 
state.  The  legislative  power  was  vested  in  a  single  assembly  of 
members,  chosen  annually  by  ballot  by  the  several  towns  in  the 
state.  The  executive  authority  was  in  a  governor,  deputy  or  lieuten- 
ant governor,  and  twelve  councillors,  elected  annually,  by  ballot  of 
the  whole  freemen  of  the  state." 

The  governor  and  council  had  no  negative  power,  but  it  was  pro- 
vided that  "  all  bills  of  a  public  nature''  before  they  were  final  ly  debated 
in  the  public  assembly,  should  be  laid  before  the  governor  atid  council 
"  for  their  perusal  and  proposals  of  amendment,"  and  "  also  printed 
for  the  information  of  the  people,"  and  that  they  should  not  be 
enacted  into  laws  until  the  succeeding  session  of  the  assembly. 
"  The  rights  of  conscience  in  the  free  exercise  of  religious  worship" 
were  secured,  and  all  the  customary  guai'ds  interposed  for  securing 
justice  and  liberty  to  all. 

This  form  of  government  continued  in  operation  long  after  the 
state  became  a  member  of  the  Federal  Union,  furnishing  the  people 
with  as  much  security  for  their  persons  and  property  as  was  enjoyed 
by  those  of  other  states,  and  allowing  to  each  individual  citizen  all 
the  liberty  which  was  consistent  with  the  welfare  of  others. 

Fellow  citizens,  we  are  proud  of  Vermont  to-day,  crowned  with 


Westminster — Hubbardton —  Windsor.  231 

her  first  century  of  prosperity  ;  we  are  proud  of  her  glorious 
annals,  of  the  worthy  deeds  which  we  commemorate,  of  the  wisdom 
that  planned  and  the  patriotism  that  effectuated  thein  ;  proud  of  her 
record  in  the  Revolution  and  in  the  Great  Rebellion  ;  proud  of 
her  rocks  and  rills,  her  woods  and  templed  hills,  her  laughing  val- 
leys and  verdant  mountains ;  proud  of  her  illustrious  statesmen, 
living  and  dead,  the  morality  and  intelligence  of  her  people,  the 
honesty  of  her  judiciary.  Let  us  so  handle  the  helm  that  the  good 
ship  of  state,  "  Vermont,"  shall  never  falter  in  her  course. 

9.  Music.  Solo  by  Frank  M.  Davis  of  Rutland,  with  chorus 
"  Let  the  Hills  and  Vales  Resound." 

10.  Addresses  by  Hon.  Edwin  W.  Stoughton  of  New  York, 
Hon.  Luke  P.  Poland  of  St.  Johnabury,  and  ex  Gov.  Ryland 
Fletcher  of  Proctorsville, 

At  the  close  of  the  services  the  procession  was  again  formed 
and  marched  to  the  Windsor  House  for 

DINNER. 

After  the  cloth  was  removed,  Hon.  Gilbert  A.  Davis,  Toast 
Master,  proposed  the  following  toasts,  which  were  appropriately 
responded  to  by  the  gentlemen  named  : 

1.  2 he  Governors  of  Vermont^  an  unbroken  line  of  illustrious 
statesmen. 

Governor  Fairbanks  having  left  town,  it  was  responded  to 

by  Col.  A.  C.  Hubbell  of  his  stajff,  and  ex-Governor  Ryland 

Fletcher. 

2.  The  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  Southern 
Policy. 

Responded  to  by  Rev.  W.  M.  Mick,  a  native  of  Virginia. 

3.  Yermont^  the  star  that  never  sets. 

Responded  to  by  AV.  E.  Johnson,  a  grandson  of  Hon.  Jacob 
Collamer. 

4.  Westminster  sends  greeting  to   Windsor. 
Response  by  Rev.  Pliny  F.  Barnard  of  Westminster. 


232  Bennington  Centennnial. 

6.     2%e  Mothers  of  Yermont,  pure  as  her  laughing  rills,  noble 

as  her  verdant  mountains  ;  their  sons  have  ever  done  them  honor. 

Responded  to  by  Hon.  Edwin  W.  Stoughton  of  New  York. 

6.  7 Ae  6^*ee7i  Jfown^am^oys,  hardy,  brave,  triumphant.  They 
whipped  the  Yorkers,  and  turned  the  tide  of  American  independ- 
ence at  Fort  Ticonderoga  ahd  Bennington. 

Responded  to  by  Hon.  Henry  Clark  of  Rutland. 

7.  2'he  Day  we  celebrate. 

Response  by  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Taylor  of  Windsor. 

8.  Tfie  brave  Vermont  Soldiers  who  served  in  the  Rebellion. 
Responded  to  by  ex-Gov.  Ryland  Fletcher  of  Proctorsville. 

9.  The  old  Constitution  House,  may  the  memory  of  that  grand 
political  event  which  took  place  within  its  walls,  July  8,  1877, 
incite  the  state  pride  and  fire  the  national  patriotism  of  the  Green 
Mountain  Boys  for  a  thousand  years  to  come. 

Responded  to  by  Rev.  Franklin  Butler  of  Windsor. 

10.  Our  State  JEd'>Miational  Institutions. 

Response  by  Rev.  C.  B.  Hulbert,  D.  D.,  of  Middlebury. 
A  letter  was  read  from  Col.  Redtield  Proctor,  expressing  his 
regrets  that  a  previous  engagement  prevented  his  attendance. 

11.  Tfie  Windsor  Cornet  Band  and  the  Ladies  and  Gentlemen 
of  the  Choir. 

Response  by  the  choir  and  band. 

This  closed  the  dinner  exercises.  At  sunset  all  the  village 
bells  rang  for  half  an  hour.  The  residences  of  Windsor 
were  illuminated  in  the  evening.  Among  those  which  deserve 
mention  were  those  of  Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of 
State,  Hon.  Edwin  W.  Stoughton,  Minister  to  Russia,  Milton 
K.  Paine,  Hiram  Harlow,  and  the  "  Old  Town  House,"  in  one 
of  which  could  be  read  the  following  memorable  words : 
"  Proceed  to  Form  ?  yeas,  72 ;  nays,  0 ;  June  4,  1777." 

This  first  centennial  commemoration  of  the  independence  of 
Vermont  was  one  of  the  most  notable  and  dignified  commem-' 
orative  services  ever  held  in  New  England. 


Preliminary  Steps,  <S:c.,  in  New  Hampshire.        233 

The  following  matter  which  formed  part  of  the  original 
plan  of  this  book,  and  is  referred  toon  page  11  was,  owing  to 
the  death  of  the  editor  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  acci- 
dentally omitted  in  its  proper  place  and  is  therefore  inserted 
here. 

NEW   HAMPSHIRE   IN   THE  BENNINGTON  CENTEN- 
NIAL—PRELIMINARY STEPS,  ETC. 

COMPILED    BY   BENJ.  F.   PRESCOTT. 

His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  governor  of  Vermont, 
extended  to  New  Hampshire  an  invitation  to  be  present  and 
take  part  in  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington, August  16,  1877.  His  Excellency  Benjamin  F. 
Prescott,  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  in  his  first  message  to 
the  legislature,  in  June,  1877,  brought  the  subject  of  the 
celebration  before  that  body  in  the  foUow'ing  manner : 

The  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bennington 
will  be  celebrated  with  appropriate  ceremony  and  demonstration 
on  the  16th  of  August,  the  present  year.  Important  prepara- 
tions are  making  for  this  centennial  celebration.  The  state  of 
Vermont,  through  proper  authority,  has  extended  an  invitation 
to  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  to  participate  in  celebrating  that 
memorable  event,  and  also  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
monument  to  commemorate  this  decisive  victory.  New  Hamp- 
shire certainly  should  have  a  just  pride  in  this  celebration  and 
enterprise  for  our  own  heroic  ancestors — composing  about  three- 
fourths  of  the  entire  number  engaged  in  this,  certainly  one  of 
the  most  important  pivotal  battles  of  the  Revolution,  under  our 
own  gallant  and  intrepid  Stark,  with  nearly  1,500  volunteer  citi- 
zens— hurled  back  the  well  equipped  and  well  organized  troops 
under  Colonels  Baum  and  Breyman,  and  hastened  the  surrender 
of  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga.  In  speaking  of  the  conduct  of  these 
New  Hampshire  troops  their  gallant  commander  said,  '*lf  every 
one  had  been  an  Alexander  or  a  Charles  of  Sweden  they  could 


234  Bennington  Centennial. 

not  have  fought  better."  It  was  a  battle  which  fired  the  country 
with  enthTisiasm,  paralyzed  the  army  of  Burgoyue,  insured  its 
subsequent  surrender,  filling  England  with  dismay,  and  making 
France  an  ally  of  America.  The  descendants  of  such  worthy 
sires  may,  on  this  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  that  victory, 
with  propriety  join  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  which  shall 
ever  tell  the  story  of  the  heroic  devotion  which  gave  to  the  world 
the  republicanism  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Massachusetts  has 
already  made  an  approjsriation  for  this  object.  I  recommend 
that  New  Hampshire  make  a  suitable  appropriation  for  the  pro- 
posed monument  on  this  historic  spot  where  so  many  of  our 
citizens,  unprepared  for  the  hardships  of  a  fatiguing  campaign, 
laid  down  their  lives  for  the  establishment  of  the  nation,  the 
permanency  of  which  there  can  be  no  question.  The  plan  is  so 
guarded,  and  the  trust  is  confided  to  such  worthy  hands,  the 
object  cannot  fail  of  an  early  fulfilment.  As  the  states  of  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  together  won  this 
decisive  victory  it  seems  especially  appropriate  that  they  should 
together  observe  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  great  event 
by  joining  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 
men  who  fought  so  heroically,  sacrificed  so  grandly,  and  died  so 
bravely.  One  of  our  own  sons,  a  gentleman  of  elegant  scholar- 
ship and  refined  culture,  has  been  honored  by  being  selected  to 
deliver  the  oration  on  the  occasion  —  certainly  an  appropriate 
compliment  to  our  state. 

As  New  Hampshire  under  trying  difiiculties  was  fully  rep- 
resented at  Bennington  on  the  16th  of  August,  1777,  let  a 
proper  respect  for  the  memory  of  those  patriots  be  shown  by  a 
full  representation  of  our  soldiers  and  citizens  on  the  16th  of 
August,  1877,  in  the  re-consecration  of  this  battle-gi'ound. 

June  14,  1877,  Governor  Prescott  transmitted  to  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives  the  invitation  of  Governor 
Fairbanks, 'with  accompanying  documents.  The  speaker  of 
the  House,  Hon.  Augustus  A.  Woolson,  referred  the  subject 
to  the  Committee  on  National  Affairs.  On  July  5th,  Mr.  Page, 
a  representative  from  Haverhill,  and  a  member  of  the  com- 


Preliminary  Steps,  <&c.,  in  New  Hampshire.        235 

mittee,  reported  a  joint  resolution,  and  recommended  its  pas- 
gage  as  follows  : 

Resolved  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  in  gen- 
eral court  convened,  That  the  legislature  of  New  Hampshire 
accept  the  invitation  of  the  governor  of  Vermont,  transmitted 
by  direction  of  the  legislature  of  that  state,  to  unite  with  the 
states  of  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  in  commemorating  the 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  on  the  16th 
of  August  next. 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  be  and  the 
same  is  hereby  appropriated  in  aid  of  the  erection  of  a  monu- 
ment in  commemoration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  to  be  paid 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  "Bennington  Battle  Monument  Associa- 
tion," a  corporation  established  under  the  laws  of  Vermont,  at 
such  time  and  in  such  sums  as  his  excellency  the  governor 
may  direct.  Provided,  that  no  part  of  such  sum  shall  be  paid 
until  the  plans  of  said  monument  shall  be  approved  by  the  gov- 
ernor, and  until  he  shall  be  satisfied  that  funds  are  provided 
from  other  sources,  including  the  sum  herein  appropriated,  suf- 
ficient to  complete  the  monument  according  to  the  plans  approved 
by  him. 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  be  and 
hereby  is  appropriated  to  pay  a  portion  of  the  expenses  for  trans- 
portation of  equipage  and  such  of  the  military  of  the  state  as 
may  volunteer  to  attend  the  celebration  at  Bennington  on  the 
16th  of  August  next,  such  material  and  troops  to  be  designated 
by  the  governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  council  and. 
adjutant-general. 

Resolved,  That  the  governor  is  hereby  authorized  to  draw  his 
warrant  for  the  aforesaid  sums  out  of  any  money  in  the  treasury 
not  otherwise  appropriated. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  state  be  instructed  to  trans- 
mit a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  the  governor  of  the  state  of 
Vermont  and  the  "Bennington  Battle  Monument  Association." 

This  joint  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture, and  was  approved  by  Governor  Prescott  July  14,  1877. 


236  Bennington  Centennial. 

New  Hampshire  took  part  in  the  celebration,  as  appears- 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

Governor  Prescott,  in  his  message  to  the  legislature  of 
1878,  in  referring  to  tlie  celebration  makes  use  of  the  follow- 
ing language : 

The  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  Ver- 
mont, occurred  on  the  16th  of  August  last.      Extensive  prepara- 
tions \^ere  made  for  a  proper  observance  of  this  historic  event. 
An  invitation  was  extended  to  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  to- 
be  present  and  take  part  in  the  exercises  of  the  day,  in  such 
manner  as  might  be  determined  upon  by  the  authorities  of  the 
state.     The  legislature  accepted  the  invitation  and  made  pro- 
vision to  be  represented  in  a  manner  worthy  the  heroic  New 
Hampshire  soldiery  who,  one  hundred  years  ago,  poorly  prepared 
except  with  brave  hearts,  broke  up  and  drove  back  a  greatly 
superior  force  of  invading  English  and  Hessian  soldieiy.     The 
legislature  appropriated  13,500  to  pay  in  part  the  expenses  for 
transportation  of  equipage  and  such  of  the  militia  of  the  state  as 
might  volunteer  to  attend  the  celebration.     In  order  to  get  as  full 
a  representation  as  possible  of  the  militia  of  the  state  a  condition 
was  made  that  such  companies  as  should  be  selected  should  pay 
for  their  own  subsistence  and  the  state  would  pay  the  entire 
expense  of  transportation.     By  adopting  this  method  we  were 
able  to  select  three  companies  from  each  regiment,  the  Amoskeag 
Veterans,  the  staff  officers  of  the  brigade,  representatives  from 
all  the  companies  in  the  state,  together  with  one  full  band  of 
music.     The  companies  selected  were  those  recommended  by  the 
colonels  of  each  regiment  in  connection  with  the  adjutant-general 
of  the  state.     In  order  to  secure  a  respectable  representation  of 
our  militia  in  point  of  numbers  the  course  adopted  seemed  the 
most  feasible.     Our  soldiers  thus  selected  were  present  on  this 
memorable  occasion,  and  participated  in  honorable  position  not 
only  in  the  great  procession  and  military  display  on  the  16th  but 
also  on  the  15th  of  August,  which  day  was  especially  devoted  to 
exercises  commemorating  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  237 

birthday  of  Vermont.  I  am  happy  to  announce  that  our  troops 
conducted  themselves  with  marked  decorum  and  soldierly  bearing 
while  on  this  expedition,  and  elicited  frequent  expressions  of  praise 
from  those  who  saw  them.  They  reflected  great  credit  and 
honor  upon  the  state,  and  did  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  any 
of  the  great  number  of  troops  present.  There  was  also  present  a 
large  representation  of  our  state  officers  and  both  branches  of  the 
legislature,  beside  hundreds  of  our  citizens.  It  was  an  occasion 
long  to  be  remembered,  and  the  prominent  part  taken  by  our 
state  in  the  exercises  will  form  an  important  epoch  in  our  history. 


'OFFICIAL  ACTION  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH  OF 
MASSACHUSETTS  COMPILED  FROM  PUBLIC  DOC- 
UMENTS AND  REPORTS. 


•COMPILED      BY      COLOKEL      ISAAC      F.      KIlfGSBURT,      ASSISTANT 
ADJUTANT-GENERAL   OF   MASSACHUSETTS. 


Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  ) 

Executive  Department,  V 

Boston,  January  9,  1877.      ) 

To  the  Honorable  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives : 
I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  transmit  for  the  information  and 

use  of  the  general  court  the  annual  reports  for  the  year  1876  *  *. 
I  also  transmit  a  communication  addi-essed  to   me  by  his 

excellency  the  governor  of  the  state  of  Vermont  enclosing  a 

€opy  of  an  act  passed  by  the  legislature  of  that  state. 

[Signed.]  ALEXANDER  H.  RICE. 

The  communication  above  transmitted  was  in  both  branches 

referred  to  the  Committee  on  Federal  Relations,  who  reported  as 

follows  : 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  ) 
House  of  Representatives,  March  30,  1877.      ) 

The  Committee  on  Federal  Relations  to  whom  was  referred  the 

communication  from  the  governor  of  Vermont  relating  to  the 


238  Bennington  Centennial. 

centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  snbmit  the 
following  report: 

The  communication  is  as  follows: 

State  of  Vermont,  > 

Executive  Chamber,      >- 

St.  Johksbury,  December  30,  1876.  ) 

To  His  Excellency  Hon.   Alexander  H.  Rice,  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts : 

Sir: — I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  to  your  excellency 
a  copy  of  an  act  passed  at  the  recent  session  of  the  legislature  of 
this  state,  in  which  I  am  directed  to  invite  in  the  name  of  the 
state  the  states  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  to  unite 
with  Vermont  in  erecting  a  monument  at  Bennington  in  memory 
of  the  heroes  of  the  battle  of  Bennington. 

In  complying  with  this  request  I  feel  sure  I  give  expression  to 
the  earnest  desire  of  all  the  citizens  of  this  state.  And  as  the 
states  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  together 
won  this  decisive  victory  it  seems  eminently  fitting  that  they 
should  together  observe  the  centennial  anniversary  of 'the  great 
event  by  joining  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  memory 
of  the  men  who  wrought  so  nobly,  sacrificed  so  grandly,  and  died 
so  bravely. 

Trusting  that  Massachusetts  will  heartily  cooperate  with  Ver- 
mont and  New  Hampshire  in  this  proposal  to  do  honor  to  their 
patriot  dead, 

I  remain,  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

HORACE  FAIKBANKS. 

Since  the  letter  above  copied  was  received  letters  of  invitation 
addressed  to  his  excellency  the  governor,  with  the  heads  of 
departments,  and  to  each  branch  of  the  legislature,  have  been 
received. 

St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  March  26,  1877. 

To  the  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts: 
Dear  Sir: — In  compliance  with  the  accompanying  resolution, 

I  desire  to  extend  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  House  of 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  239 

Representatives,  the  cordial  invitation  of  the  association  to  attend 
and  participate  in  the  exercises  of  the  centennial  celebration  of 
the  battle  of  Bennington,  at  Bennington,  in  this  state,  on  the 
sixteenth  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1877. 

I  am,  very  respectfully  yours, 

HORACE  FAIRBANKS, 
President  of  the  Bennington  Battle  Monument  Association. 

[COPY.] 

Bennington,  Vt.,  March  21,  1877. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Battle  Monument  Association,  held  this 
day  at  the  court  house,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted,  and 
the  chairman,  Ex-Governor  Hall,  was  directed  to  transmit  a  copy 
of  the  same  to  His  Excellency  Governor  Horace  Fairbanks, 
president  of  this  association  : 

Resolved,  That  His  Excellency  Horace  Fairbanks,  president 
of  this  association,  be  directed  to  invite  in  the  name  of  the 
association  the  governor  and  council,  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  state  officers  of  the  states  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  to  attend  ana  participate  in  the 
centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  at  Ben- 
nington, Vt.,  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  August,  1877. 

[Signed.]  J.  T.  SHURTLEFF, 

Secretary  pro  tern. 

A  similar  communication  was  addressed  to  the  president  of  the 
Senate. 

The  letters  from  Governor  Fairbanks  invite  Massachusetts  to 
unite  with  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  in  celebrating  the 
centennial  anniversary  of  the  battle  as  well  as  in  erecting  a 
monument.  A  brief  sketch  of  the  battle,  showing  the  part 
Massachusetts  bore  in  this,  then  and  since  recognized  as  one  of 
the  most  important  engagements  of  the  war,  may  not  be  amiss. 

The  course  of  American  history  has  been  marked  at  intervals 
by  signal  events  conspicuous  to  the  whole  world,  and  indicative 
of  that  influence  on  the  world's  progress  which  it  has  been  the 
destiny  of  this  country  under  Providence  to  exert.  The  landing 
of  the  Pilgrims  was  one  of  these  events  ;  the  resistance  to  British 


340  Bennington  Centennial. 

aggression  made  at  Concord  and  Lexington  was  another;  the 
formation  of  the  national  constitution  under  the  lead  of  Wash- 
ington was  another.  Secondary  in  importance  to  such  events  as 
these,  yet  no  less  characteristic  of  the  spirit  and  capacity  of  the 
New  England  people,  were  such  incidents  as  the  revolt  against 
Andros  in  1689,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  in  1775,  and  the 
victory  at  Bennington  two  years  later.  These  two  battles,  indeed, 
though  fought  at  an  interval  of  years  and  a  distance  of  many 
miles  may  be  regarded  as  no  more  than  successive  phases  of  the 
same  engagement,  in  both  of  which  the  same  veteran  captain, 
John  Stark  ©f  New  Hampshire,  had  a  leading  part.  At  Bunker 
Hill  the  best  soldiers  of  the  British  army,  victors  in  many  a  con- 
test in  Europe,  were  twice  repulsed  in  attacking  the  hasty 
intrenchments  of  the  New  England  militia.  At  Bennington  the 
same  militia  without  cannon  or  bayonets  and  by  the  mere  force 
of  courage  aided  by  skill  in  strategy  drove  from  their  strong 
intrenchments  the  best  soldiers  of  Germany,  followers  of  the 
great  Frederick,  who  were  fighting  upon  ground  of  their  own 
choice  and  with  all  the  appointments  of  a  regular  campaign. 
And  it  was  the  same  Stark  who  with  his  New  Hampshire  sharp- 
sTiooters  covered  the  retreat  of  Prescott  from  Bunker  Hill  that 
at  Bennington,  leading  the  same  sharpshooters  reenforced  by 
the  hunters  of  Berkshire  and  the  Green  Mountain  Boys,  made 
the  irresistible  assault  that  again  repulsed  the  enemy  from  the 
invasion  of  New  England.  What  Gage  had  attempted  with  a 
fleet  and  a  fortified  town  at  his  back,  and  what  Bunker  Hill 
thwarted,  was  again  essayed  by  Burgoyne  from  the  other  side  of 
New  England  with  a  loyal  province  and  the  alliance  of  savages 
tki  his  back.  In  neither  attempt  could  the  enemy  march  a  mile 
into  the  well-defended  borders  of  New  England,  and  never  again 
was  the  campaign  renewed.  Bunker  Hill  on  the  east,  Benning- 
ton on  the  west,  gave  fair  warning  to  Old  England  that  her 
American  namesake  was  not  to  be  conquered  by  invasion;  and  a 
few  reckless  marauders  on  the  costs  of  Maine,  Rhode  Island  and 
Connecticut  in  the  succeeding  years  of  the  war  only  served  to 
call  attention  to  the  impregnable  strength  of  New  England. 
It  is  because  the  battle  of  Bennington  so  well  illustrates  what 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  241 

was  and  must  ever  be  the  bulwark  of  New  England  that  its 
centennial  commemoration  should  command  the  attention  and 
the  cooperation  of  Massachusetts.  Yet  the  part  taken  by 
Massachusetts  men  in  the  battle  was  by  no  means  a  trifling  one; 
and  if  New  Hampshire  furnished  the  general  and  Vermont  the 
timely  aid  of  her  partisan  warriors,  our  commonwealth  sent  to 
the  camp  of  Stark  that  picturesque  accessory  of  the  combat,  a 
fighting  parson.  The  Reverend  Thomas  Allen  of  Pittsfield, 
who  at  the  head  of  his  parishioners  took  an  active  part  in  the 
battle,  was  a  fit  representative  of  the  religious  element  which 
entered  so  warmly  into  the  American  Revolution,  and  contributed 
so  much  to  its  success.  Having  taught  his  people  for  years  that 
**  resistance  to  tyrants  was  obedience  to  God,"  he  was  withheld 
by  no  weak  scruples  from  joining  in  the  crusade  he  had  preached, 
and  he  handled  his  musket  at  Bennington  as  bravely  as  he 
handled  his  Bible  texts  in  Berkshire.  He  went  to  the  fight  not 
so  much  a  chaplain  as  a  captain,  and  Stark  had  good  cause  to 
praise  his  pious  aid. 

The  situation  of  the  national  cause  for  some  months  before  the 
victory  at  Bennington  was  gloomy  indeed.  General  Burgoyne 
at  the  head  of  a  large  and  confident  army  had  moved  rapidly 
down  from  Quebec  and  early  in  July  had  compelled  the  evacu- 
ation of  Ticonderoga,  which  was  looked  upon  as  the  key  to  New 
England  and  New  York.  Flushed  with  victory  he  marched  on 
to  unite  with  Sir  "William  Howe  on  the  Lower  Hudson,  whence, 
as  he  thought.  New  England  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  colonies 
would  fall  an  easy  prey.  The  northern  colonies  were  in  a  panic; 
Schuyler  was  distrusted  and  unpopular;  Stark  had  retired  from 
the  army  in  disgust;  the  towns  of  New  York,  Vermont  and 
Western  New  Hampshire  were  encouraged  to  take  up  arms 
against  their  fellow-countrymen.  At  this  crisis  Burgoyne,  heed- 
less of  danger  but  also  impelled  by  the  necessity  of  procuring 
supplies,  detached  a  body  of  men  to  ravage  New  York,  and  was 
meditating  a  like  detachment  for  Vermont  and  Massachusetts. 
Reports  of  the  impending  danger  reaching  New  Hampshire, 
Stark  was  called  from  his  retirement  and  put  in  command  of  a 
small  army  raised  "  for  the  defense  of  this  and  the  neighboring 


242  Bennington  Centennial. 

states,  to  prevent  the  encroachments  and  ravages  of  the  enemy 
thereinto,"  as  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  voted  on  the  18th 
of  July,  1777.  The  soldiers  were  on  their  march  at  once,  and 
before  the  first  of  August  were  in  Vermont,  where  they  were 
joined  by  the  Green  Mountain  Boys.  General  Stark  was  empow- 
ered by  his  state  to  act  independently  of  the  national  army,  and 
he  refused  to  obey  orders  from  General  Schuyler  to  march  his 
men  into  New  York.  He  knew  where  the  danger  was  and  how 
the  enemy  should  be  met  better  than  any  one  could  tell  him. 
On  the  9th  of  August  he  encamped  at  Bennington,  the  very  day 
on  which  Burgoyne  issued  his  instructions  to  Colonel  Baum.  The 
latter  was  directed  to  advance  through  Arlington,  Manchester 
and  Kockingham  to  Brattleboro,  and  thence  return  through 
Berkshire  to  Albany,  where  Burgoyne  hoped  to  meet  him  early 
in  September,  or  even  sooner.  Baum  set  out  on  the  11th  of 
August,  which  was  Monday  morning,  and  reached  a  hillside  near 
Bennington  on  the  13th,  where  he  encamped  with  his  whole 
force  of  nearly  one  thousand  men.  Of  these  the  greater  part 
were  Germans,  and  they  brought  with  them  two  pieces  of 
artillery.  Finding  himself  opposed  by  Stark  before  he  had  fairly 
entered  New  England, — for  his  intrenched  camp  was  in  New 
York, — Baum  sent  back  to  Burgoyne  for  reenforcements.  On 
the  morning  of  the  15th  these  reenforcements,  consisting  of  two 
German  battalions  and  two  pieces  of  cannon  under  the  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Breyman,  left  Burgoyne's  army,  only  twenty-five 
miles  from  Bennington,  and  marched,  as  he  supposed,  to  join  in 
Baum's  victory. 

In  the  meantime  Stark  had  tried  in  vain  to  draw  Baum  and 
his  men  from  their  intrenchments  so  that  they  might  fight  on 
fair  terms  with  the  ill-armed  militia  under  his  command.  Find- 
ing this  impossible,  he  had  been  delayed  by  a  pouring  rain  on 
the  15th  of  August  from  making  the  attack  upon  which  he  had 
determined.  This  delay  it  was  that  brought  the  men  of  Berk- 
shire into  the  fight,  which  otherwise  might  have  been  won  or  lost 
without  them.  They  reached  Bennington  from  the  southward 
on  the  night  of  the  15th,  the  soldiers  marching  on  foot,  and 
Parson  Allen  driving  through  the  muddy  roads  in  his  parochial 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  243 

chaise  —  going  to  war  in  his  chariot  like  one  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment kings.  He  reported  himself  for  duty  at  once  to  the  gray- 
haired  commander  of  the  American  forces,  asking  only  to  be 
allowed  to  fight  this  time,  since  his  parishioners  had  been  so 
often  called  out  without  firing  a  gun.  "  Among  the  reenforce- 
ments  from  Berkshire,"  says  Edward  Everett  in  his  Life  of  Stark, 
"came  a  clergyman  with  a  portion  of  his  fiock,  resolved  to  make 
bare  the  arm  of  flesh  against  the  enemies  of  his  country.  Before 
daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  he  addressed  the  com- 
mander as  follows :  '  We,  the  people  of  Berkshire,  have  been 
frequently  called  upon  to  fight,  but  have  never  been  led  against 
the  enemy.  We  have  now  resolved  if  you  will  not  let  us  fight 
never  to  turn  out  again. '  General  Stark  asked  if  he  wished  to 
march  then,  when  it  was  dark  and  rainy.  'No,'  was  the 
answer,  'not  just  this  minute.'  'Then,' continued  Stark,  'if 
the  Lord  should  once  more  give  us  sunshine  and  I  do  not  give 
you  fighting  enough  I  will  never  ask  you  to  come  again.'" 

Stark  was  as  good  as  his  word.  When  the  sun  rose  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  the  16th  of  August,  the  clouds  broke 
away  and  everything  gave  promise  of  a  fine  day.  The  American 
commander  had  already  formed  his  plan  of  battle.  Sending 
Colonel  Moses  Nichols,  a  New  Hampshire  physician,  command- 
ing the  sixth  regiment  of  militia  in  that  state,  and  Colonel 
Herrick  of  Vermont,  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  each, 
to  outflank  the  British  intrenchments  and  attack  them  in  the 
rear.  Stark  himself,  with  his  main  body  of  five  hundred  men, 
prepared  to  attack  Baum  in  front.  This  small  force  he  again 
divided,  sending  Colonel  David  Hobart  of  the  New  Hampshire 
twelfth  regiment  and  Colonel  Thomas  Stickney  of  the  eleventh 
to  attack  the  right  wing  of  Baum  with  two  hundred  men,  when 
Nichols  and  Herrick  should  be  heard  attacking  his  rear.  The 
Massachusetts  soldiers,  being  portions  of  Colonel  Symonds'  and 
Colonel  John  Brown's  regiments,  and  some  volunteers  from 
Southern  Berkshire  (the  two  last  named  bodies  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Colonel  David  Eossiter  of  Kichmond),  were  under 
Stark's  immediate  orders,  and  it  was  to  them  that  he  made  the 
famous  speech,  "Boys,  there's  the  enemy;  we  must  whip  them 


24:4  JBenningion  Oe7itennial. 

before   sundown   or  Molly  Stark  will  be  a  widow  to-night." 
Parson  Allen  addressed  his  companions  in  more  scriptural  phrase, 
and  offered  prayer  in  their  name  to  the  God  of  battles.     Then 
going  forward  with  them  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  fire  his 
musket  at  the  Tory  outworks  of  Baum's  fortified  camp  (provoked 
by  shots  from  his  false  countrymen  whom  he  was  warning  of 
their  sin  in  fighting  against  the   United   States).     Tradition 
reports  him  as  mounting  upon  the  temporary  pulpit  of  a  fallen 
free  in  full  view  of  the  Eoyal   Rangers,  as  the   Tories  called 
themselves,  and  there  declaiming  and  exhorting.     The  Tories 
paid  little  heed  to  his  words,  but  they  recognized  his  slender, 
youthful  figure,  clad  in  black,  and  shouting,  *'  There's  Parson 
Allen — let's  pop  him!"  they  let  fly  a  hailstorm  of  bullets.     He 
stepped  down  unharmed,  reserving  the  rest  of  his  discourse  for  a 
more  quiet  opportunity,  and  turning  to  his  brother,  Lieutenant 
Joseph  Allen,  who  had  followed  him  to  the  front,  said,  "  Now 
give  me  my  musket ;  you  load  and  Fll  fire."    Little  harm  was 
probably  done  by  his  shots  at  this  time  ;  but  later  in  the  fight 
observing  a  flash  and  a  shot  often  repeated  from  a  certain  bush, 
at  which  one  of  Stark's  men  usually  fell.  Parson  Allen,  as  he 
used  to  say  afterwards,  "fired  that  way  and  put  the  flash  out." 
"Precisely  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,"  writes  General 
Stark  in  his  official  dispatch,  "  Colonel  Nichols  commenced  the 
attack,  which  was  followed  by  all  the  rest.     I  pushed  forward 
the  remainder  with  all   speed  ;    our  people  behaved  with  the 
greatest    spirit    and    courage     imaginable.       Had     they    been 
Alexanders  or  Charles  of  Sweden  they  could  not  have  behaved 
better."     The  farmers  of  Berkshire,  the  militia  men  from  New 
Hampshire,   the  hardy  Green  Mountain   Boys  fresh  from  the 
scythe  and  the  hayfield  and  stripped  to  their  shirts  because  of 
the  hot  day,  advanced  like  veterans  through  fire  and  smoke  and 
*'  mounted  breastworks  that  were  well  fortified  and  defended 
with  cannon."     "It  was  the  hottest  fight,"  Stark  said,  "that  he 
had  ever  seen  ;  it  was  like  one  continued  clap  of  thunder."    The 
men  behind  the  fortifications  were  German  artillerists  and  dis- 
mounted  dragoons,  English  grenadiers,   Tory   volunteers,    and 
Indian  warriors.     The  latter,  numbering  a  hundred  and  more, 
fled  early  in  the  engagement,  finding  themselves  caught  in  a  trap 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  245 

by  their  old  antagonist  Stark,  whom  some  of  them  had  met 
in  the  French  war.  The  cannon  were  well  served,  and  the  regu- 
lar troops  fought  gallantly,  but  the  Americans  rushed  up  almost 
to  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  shot  down  the  gunners  with  little 
loss  to  themselves.  Baum  at  last  attempted  a  sally,  but  was  him- 
self mortally  wounded  in  leading  it.  "  Then,"  says  Stark,  "  we 
forced  their  breastworks  at  the  muzzles  of  their  guns,"  and  the 
first  encounter  was  over. 

The  victorious  yeomanry,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  now 
began  to  pursue  and  to  plunder  with  the  pardonably  license  of 
conquerors;  While  thus  occupied,  Breyman,  with  his  reenforce- 
ments,  was  reported  within  two  miles  of  the  battle  field.  Stark 
began  to  collect  his  men  for  a  second  encounter,  and,  while  doing 
so,  Breyman,  rallying  the  British  fugitives  and  threatening  to 
turn  the  defeat  into  a  victory,  advanced  half  way  to  Baum's  cap- 
tured intrenchments.  Colonel  Rossiter  of  Berkshire  now  distin- 
guished himself,  and  Stark  turned  upon  Breyman  the  cannon  he 
had  just  captured  ;  but  the  fight  was  won  a  second  time  by  the 
Green  Mountain  regiment  of  Colonel  Seth  "Warner,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  in  number,  who  were  sent  fresh  into  action,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  the  other  regiments,  drove  Breyman,  at  sunset,  from 
the  field.  **Then,"  said  Stark,  "we  pursued  them  till  dark, 
when  I  was  obliged  to  halt  for  fear  of  killing  my  own  men.  We 
killed  upwards  of  two  hundred  of  the  enemy  on  the  field  of 
battle.  I  have  one  lieutenant-colonel  (since  dead),  one  major, 
seven  captains,  fourteen  lieutenants,  four  ensigns,  two  cornets, 
one  judge-advocate,  one  baron,  two  Canadian  ofiicers,  six  ser- 
geants, one  aid-de-camp,  and  seven  hundred  prisoners."  Stark 
adds,  with  arithmetical  precision,  *'*  I  almost  forgot  one  Hessian 
chaplain."  "  Gentlemen,"  he  concludes,  addressing  his  superiors 
in  New  Hampshire,  "I  think  we  have  returned  the  enemy  a 
proper  compliment  in  the  above  action  for  the  Hubbard-town 
engagement."*  The  actual  loss  of  the  British  was  about  one 
thousand  men  ;  while  of  the  Americans  less  than  eighty  were 
killed  and  wounded. 

Parson  Allen  not  only  opened  the  battle  with  prayer  and  con- 

*  A  skirmish  on  the  7th  of  July,  in  which  Fraser  and  Riedesel  had  captured  or  killed 
more  than  two  hundred  men  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  not  far  from  Ticonderoga. 


246  Bennington    Centennial. 

tinued  it  with  musketry,  but  he  wrote  an  account  of  it  at  night, 
which  was  sent  to  Hartford  and  printed  in  the  Connecticut 
**Courant"of  August  35.  After  describing  the  movement  of 
Burgoyne  to  ravage  Vermont,  Mr.  Allen  says  :  ''This  digression 
was  of  such  ill  tendency,  and  savored  so  much  of  presumption 
that  Crcneral  Stark,  who  was  at  that  time  providentially  at  Ben- 
nington Avith  his  brigade  of  militia  from  New  Hampshire  state, 
determined  to  give  him  battle.  The  G-eneral,  it  seems,  wisely 
laid  his  plan  of  operation ;  and  Divine  Providence  blessing  us 
with  good  weather,  between  three  and  four  o'clock  P.  M.,  he 
attacked  them  in  front  and  in  flank,  in  three  or  four  different 
places  at  the  same  instant,  with  irresistible  impetuosity.  The 
action  was  extremely  hot  for  between  two  and  three  hours.  The 
flanking  divisions  had  carried  their  points  with  great  success, 
when  the  front  pressed  on  to  their  breastworks  with  an  ardor  and 
patience  beyond  expectation.  The  blaze  of  the  guns  of  the  con- 
tending parties  reached  each  other.  *  *  *  xhis  action, 
which  redounds  to  the  glory  of  the  great  Lord  of  the  heavens 
and  God  of  armies,  affords  the  Americans  a  lasting  monument  of 
the  divine  power  and  goodness,  and  a  most  powerful  argument 
of  love  to  and  trust  in  God.  The  victory  is  thought  by  some  to 
equal  any  that  has  happened  during  the  present  controversy,  and 
as  long  as  prudence,  moderation,  sobriety  and  valor  are  of  any 
estimation  among  these  United  States  will  not  fail  to  endear 
General  Stark  to  them.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  that  if  a  large 
body  of  militia  was  now  called  to  act  in  conjunction  with  our 
northern  army  the  enemy  might  be  entirely  overthrown."  This 
opinion  was  confirmed  by  what  soon  happened.  General  Gates 
took  command  at  Albany  three  days  afterward,  and  with  large 
reenforcements  had  checked  the  march  of  Burgoyne  at  Stillwater 
a  few  weeks  later.  About  the  20th  of  October,  Stark  having 
consented  to  serve  under  Gates  and  placed  himself  in  the  rear  of 
Burgoyne,  that  general  surrendered  his  whole  army. 

The  victory  won  at  Bennington  was  indeed  complete,  and  its 
results  were  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  number  of  men  engaged. 
Napoleon  scoffed  at  our  Revolution  as  ''a  war  of  skirmishes," 
but  they  were  decisive  skirmishes  and  therefore  quite  as  effective 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  247 

tts  Austerlitz,  Jena,  or  Waterloo.  This  three  hours'  fight  among 
the  Green  Mountains  determined  the  fate  of  Burgoyne's  splendid 
campaign,  which  had  been  arranged  in  cabinet  councils  at  Lon- 
don, and  promoted  by  the  mercenary  princes  of  Germany,  who 
sold  their  subjects  to  fill  their  own  purses.  From  the  day  that 
the  British  general  received  back  the  weary  fugitives  escaping 
from  Stark's  guns  his  army  was  doomed  to  defeat  and  capture. 
Unable  to  gather  supplies  by  ranging  the  country,  and  weakened 
in  his  fighting  force  by  the  loss  of  nearly  a  tenth  part  of  his 
army,  Burgoyne  soon  saw  that  advance  was  impossible.  Delay- 
ing to  retreat  from  pride  and  shame  he  felt  the  net  of  Gates 
and  Stark  slowly  closing  about  him,  and  within  nine  weeks  from 
the  battle  of  Bennington  he  surrendered  his  6,000  fighting  men 
at  Saratoga.  In  the  journal  of  the  Baroness  Eiedesel,  whose 
husband  was  one  of  Burgoyne's  most  trusted  German  officers,  we 
read  that  in  his  opinion  the  battle  of  Bennington  "paralyzed  at 
once  the  operations  of  the  British  army."  So  important  at  the 
critical  moment  was  the  heroic  achievement  of  Stark  and  his 
farmer-soldiers. 

It  was  in  this  light  that  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts 
regarded  it  when  at  their  next  session,  in  December,  1777, 'they 
acknowledged  the  receipt  of  the  trophies  of  Bennington  which 
now  hang  in  the  Senate  chamber,  and  returned  thanks  to  Gen- 
eral Stark,  who  had  sent  them  **the  tokens  of  victory  at  the 
memorable  battle  of  Bennington."  "The  events  of  the  day," 
the  letter  of  the  general  court  goes  on  to  say,  "strongly  mark 
the  bravery  of  the  men  who,  unskilled  in  war,  forced  from  their 
inti'enchments  a  chosen  number  of  veteran  troops  of  boasted 
Britons,  as  well  as  the  address  and  valor  of  the  general  who 
directed  their  movements  and  led  them  on  to  conquest.  This 
signal  exploit  opened  the  way  to  a  rapid  succession  of  advantages 
most  important  to  America." 

It  is  a  just  acknowledgment  of  these  results,  and  as  a  becoming 
tribute  to  John  Stark  and  his  men,  that  the  commonwealth. of 
Massachusetts  is  now  asked  to  unite  with  her  sister  states  of  Ver- 
mont and  New  Hampshire  in  commemorating  so  glorious  an 
achievement. 

The  committee  are  of  opinion  that  a  battle  so  brilliant  in 


248  Bennington  Centennial. 

execution  and  decisive  in  results,  and  one  in  which  Massachusetts 
took  so  conspicuous  and  honorable  part,  may  properly  receive 
the  cooperation  of  this  commonwealth  in  celebrating  its  centen- 
nial anniversary  and  in  erecting  a  memorial  monument.  They 
therefore  report  the  accompanying  resolves. 
[Signed.]  E.  H.  KELLOGG, 

HENRY  C.  EWING, 

Of  the  Senate. 
JUSTIN  DEWEY, 
F.  W.  BIRD, 

FREDERICK  HATHAWAY, 
F.  N.  THAYER, 
WM.  A.  READ, 

Of  the  House. 

COMMONWEALTH    OF   MASSACHUSETTS.       IK  THE  YEAR  ONE  THOU- 
SAND  EIGHT   HUNDRED   AND   SEVENTY-SEVEN. 

Resolves  relating  to  the   Celebration  of  the  Centennial  Anni- 
versary of  the  Battle  of  Bennington,  and  in  aid  of  erecting  a 
Monument  in  commemoration  of  the  same. 
Resolved,  That  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts  accepts   the 
invitation  of  the  governor  of  Vermont,  transmitted  by  direction 
of  the  legislature  of  the  state,  to  unite  with  the  states  of  Ver- 
mont and  New  Hampshire  in  commemorating  the  centennial 
anniversary  of  the    battle  of  Bennington  on  the  sixteenth  of 
August  next. 

Resolved,  That  a  sum  not  exceeding  seven  thousand  five  hun- 
dred dollars  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  in  aid  of  the 
erection  of  a  monument  in  commemoration  of  the  battle  of  Ben- 
nington, to  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Bennington  Battle 
Monument  Association,  a  corporation  established  under  the  laws 
of  Vermont,  at  such  times  and  in  such  sums  as  his  excellency 
the  governor  may  direct.  Provided,  that  no  part  of  such  sum 
shall  be  paid  until  the  plans  of  said  monument  shall  be  approved 
by  the  governor,  and  until  he  shall  be  satisfied  that  funds  are 
provided  from  other  sources,  including  the  sum  herein  appropri- 
ated, suflBcient  to  complete  the  monument  according  to  the  plans 
approved  by  him.     Approved  April  26,  1877. 


Action  of  Massachusetts.  249 

Ecsolve  concerning  the  "  Trophies  of  the  Battle  of  Bennington," 
now  in  the  Senate  Chiimber  of  tlie  Capitol. 

Resolved,  That  the  trophies  of  the  battle  of  Bennington,  now 
in  the  Senate  chamber  of  the  cajDitol,  be  transported  to  Ben- 
nington, Vermont,  on  the  occasion  of  the  approaching  centennial 
celebration  of  that  important  event;  and  that  for  this  purpose 
the  adjutant-general  be  authorized  to  take  charge  of  these  cher- 
ished memorials ;  and  that  he  be  enjoined  to  use  due  care  in 
transporting,  preserving  and  returning  them  to  their  present 
place  in  this  capitol.     Approved  May  9,  1877. 

EXTRACT  FROM  REPORT  OF  THE  ADJUTANT-GEN- 
ERAL OF  MASSACHUSETTS  CONCERNING  THE 
CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION  AT  BENNINGTON. 

**At  the  centennial  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bennington 
there  was  an  extensive  military  display  by  organizations  from 
several  states  ;  the  militia  of  Massachusetts  being  represented 
by  the  first  corps  of  cadets,  as  escort  to  the  executive  and  legis- 
lative branches  of  the  government. 

''The  expressions  of  regret  and  manifestations  of  sympathy 
occasioned  by  the  absence  and  illness  of  your  excellency  were 
universal.  At  the  request  of  the  chief  marshal.  Major  A.  B. 
"Valentine,  representing  the  Vermont  Centennial  Commission, 
Colonel  Isaac  F.  Kingsbury,  assistant  adjutant-general,  waa 
appointed  assistant  marshal  from  Massachusetts. 

"  In  making  preparations  for  the  visit  to  Bunnington,  it  became 
ajiparent  that  in  so  small  a  town  adequate  accommodations  could 
not  reasonably  be  expected  for  the  great  numbers  of  peoj^le  who 
would  be  attracted  thither.  The  sergeant-at-arms  was  of  this 
opinion,  and  provided  for  members  of  the  legislature  at  the  hotels 
in  North  Adams,  and  by  special  train  to  and  from  Bennington 
on  the  day  of  the  celebration.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  estab- 
lish a  camp  for  the  cadets  near  that  of  the  First  Vermont  In- 
fantry ;  but  this  idea  was  abandoned,  as  it  involved  not  only  ad- 
ditional expense  for  transportation  and  labor,  but  tlie  risk  of  not 
being  able  to  return  the  camp  equipage  in  season  for  use  of  the 


250  Bennington  Centennial. 

Second  Brigade  dt  South  Framingham  on  the  Monday  following. 
Subsequent  events  proved  the  wisdom  of  the  plans  finally  adopted 
.for  the  executive  department  and  the  escort,  in  the  employment 
of  a  train  of  sleeping  cars  with  hotel  arrangements  on   board, 
^  which  left  Boston  at  3:30  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  August  15th,  and 
^arrived   in   Bennington   at   half-past    twelve  o'clock   midnight, 
^  where  it  was  placed  on  a  side  track*,  near  the  grounds  reserved 
^  for  the  exercises  after  the  procession  had  completed  its  route. 
)  Members  of  the  Bennington  Reception  Committee  were  in  wait- 
ing, and  conducted   his  honor  the  lieutenant-governor  to  the 
Putnam   House,  and  the  executive  council,    attorney-general, 
and  heads  of  departments  to  a  private  residence.     The  staff  and 
cadets  remained  on  board  the  train. 

"Desj)ite  the  showers  of  the  following  morning,  the  cadets 
were  promptly  in  the  place  assigned  them  at  the  head  of  the 
Massachusetts  Division,  escorting  his  honor  the  lieutenant- 
, governor  and  other  state  oflBcials  from  the  hotel. 

"  Wherever  the  cadets  appeared  during  their  stay,  they  were 
.most  cordially  received.  The  dress  parade  of  the  corps  in  the 
afternoon,  before  his  honor  the  lieutenant-governor,  was  wit- 
,nessed  by  a  great  throng  of  people,  who  heartily  applauded  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  ceremony.  A  detail  from  the  First  Vermont 
Infantry  was  furnished,  by  the  courtesy  of  Colonel  Peck,  com- 
manding, to  keep  clear  a  space  sufficient  for  the  parade. 

"  The  departure  from  Bennington  was  delayed  till  midnight,  on 
account  of  the  railroads  being  taxed  to  their  utmost  capacity  in 
^oviug  special  trains.  An  opportunity  was  thus  given  to  witness 
the  torchlight  procession  and  the  magnificent  illuminations  in 
the  camp  of  the  militia  and  veterans  and  throughout  the  town. 

"  Arriving  in  Boston  shortly  after  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  17th,  his  honor,  the  lieutenant-governor,  and  other  state 
officials  were  escorted  to  the  capitol,  when  the  cadets  returned 
to  their  armory.  The  entire  journey  was  accomplished  without 
accident.     The  arrangements  for  transportation  and  sustenance 

•  This  side  track  was  constructed  under  direction  of  Sergeant-at-Arms  Captain  O.  F 
Mitchell,  of  material  sent  from  Hoosac  Tunnel  line,  and  was  used  for  the  trains  of  the 
executive  and  legislative  party. 


Action  of  ITassachuseits,  251 

were  in  every  respect  complete,  aud  reflect  great  credit  upon  the 
quartermaster  of  the  cadets,  First  Lieutenant  Charles  C.  Melcher. 
**  Under  resolyes  of  1877,  chapter  62,  the  trophies  of  the  battle 
of  Bennington,  consisting  of  a  drum,  sword,  grenadier's  cap,  and 
a  musket,  were  taken  to  Bennington,  and  placed  on  exhibition 
during  the  centennial  celebration-,  Mr.  George  Carleton,  an 
employe  of  the  sergeant-at-arms,  was  detailed,  at  my  request,  to 
accompany  these  trophies  during  their  absence ;  and  they  were 
constantly  under  his  eye  until  their  safe  return  to  the  capitol." 

Under  the  resolve  providing  for  the  legislative  visit  to  the 
Bennington  Centennial,  arrangements  were  carefully  made  by 
Captain  0.  F.  Mitchell,  sergcant-at-arms,  the  appropriation 
($2,500)  being  ample  for  the  purpose.  A  special  train  was  jiro- 
vided  over  the  Fitchburg  railroad  which  left  Boston  at  2:30 
P.  M.,  August  loth,  and  arrived  at  North  Adams  at  7:40  P.  M. 
Here  accommodations  at  the  three  principal  hotels, — Wilson, 
Ballon  and  Kichmond, — had  been  secured.  Hon,  J.  B.  D. 
Coggswell,  president  of  the  Senate,  and  Hon.  John  D.  Long, 
speaker  of  the  House,  were  of  the  party  which  numbered  thirty 
senators  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  representatives. 

Kesuming  the  journey  at  7:30  A.  M.,  next  day,  the  arrival  at 
Bennington,  after  vexatious  delays,  was  in  season  for  participa- 
tion in  the  great  procession  and  other  exercises  of  the  day. 

The  legislative  train  placed  upon  the  siding  with  that  of  the 
governor  aud  suite,  rendered  it  possible  even  with  the  over- 
crowded condition  of  the  railx'oad  to  get  away  at  a  seasonable 
hour. 

Leaving  Bennington  at  7  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  night  was  spent  at 
North  Adams,  and  Boston  reached  in  safety  about  2  P.  M., 
August  17  th. 

A  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  to  Sergeant-at-Arms  Mitchell  for 
his  complete  aud  successful  arrangements  was  an  interesting 
incident  of  the  homeward  journey. 


2S2  J^ennington  Centennial. 

TO  MARSHALS  AND  STAFF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  PRO- 
CESSION OF  AUGUST  15TII  AND  IGtii,  AT  BENNING- 
TON, VT. 

•BexVnington,  Vt,  August  20,  1877. 

Gentlemen: — The  just  and  lenient  criticism  and  generous 
expression  of  approval  by  the  press  and  distinguished  citizens  of 
the  country,,  warrants  me  in  congratulating  you  upon  the  result 
ef  our  labors  in  organizing  and  carrying  out  successfully  the 
programme  of  procession  in  which  you  acted  so  important  a  part. 

You  have  done  cheerfully  whatever  was  rcq.nired,  even  in  some 
matters  which  did  not  directly  pertain  to  the  department  in 
which  you  consented  to  act,  and  have  done  much  in  every  way 
to  bring  to  a  happy  issue  this  celebration  of  the  centennial 
anniversaries  of  the  independence  of  Vermont  and  the  glorious 
victory  of  Bennington. 

In  behalf  of  myself  and  many  who  have  taken  a  deep  interest 
in  this  celebration,  allow  me,  gentlemen,  to  thank  you  for  your 
labors  and  congratulate  you  upon  their  consummation  and  their 
results. 

I  am  sure  you  will  also  unite  with  me  in  thanks  to  General  J. 
K.  Patterson  of  New  Hampshire,  and  Colonel  I.  F.  Kingsbury  of 
Massachusetts,  who,  by  request,  were  named  by  their  Excellencies 
Governors  B,  F.  Prescott  and  Alexander  H.  Rice,  as  assistants 
to  the  chief  marshal,  representing  their  respective  states. 
Much  of  our 'success  is  due  to  the  presence,  active  cooperation, 
and  valuable  counsel  of  these  gentlemen,  for  which  they  have  my 
hearty  thanks.     Again  thanking  you  all, 

I  am,  gentlemen,  yours  truly, 

A.  B.  VALENTINE,  Chief  Marshal 


ERRATA. 

At  page  174,  end  of  first  paragraph,  add  as  follows  : 

On  the  night  of  the  14th,  after  ascertaining  the  position  of  the  enemy, 
Stark  called  a  council,  consisting  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Counctil  of 
Safety  as  well  as  of  Colonels  Warner  and  Herrick  and  other  military  officers, 
in  which  a  plan  for  attacking  the  enemy  was  discussed  and  adopted,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  the  attack  should  be  made  the  next  morning.  But  the  loth 
was  so  excessively  rainy  as  to  prevent  any  attempt  at  a  general  action. 
Scouts  were  however  sent  out  some  of  which  were  engaged  in  successful 
ekinnishea. 

THE  BATTLE. 


A 


